Tom Brady is on a mission. The quarterback earned five touchdown passes to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Atlanta Falcons 48-25 at Raymond James Stadium.
Of those five stints in the end zone, two were caught by tight end Rob Gronkowski and three more by wide receivers Mike Evans (two) and Chris Goodwin (one).
Brady completed his game with 24 of 36 passing attempts for 276 yards. Evans was his favorite target, shooting five balls for 75 yards.
Bucs’ defense was just as effective, scoring three interceptions on Falcons pivot Matt Ryan’s expense. Mike Edwards had two, while Shaquille Barrett did the other.
Despite the three interceptions, Ryan completed 35 of the 46 balls sent to the receivers for 300 yards, as well as hitting the target twice in the end zone.
That means the Super Bowl champions are still undefeated after two weeks of activity.
An all-out duel in favor of the cardinals
In Arizona, the Minnesota Cardinals and Vikings swapped top teams throughout the game, with the eventual winners being 34-33.
However, it was a failed arrangement by visiting kicker Greg Joseph in the last game of the match which brought the win to the Cardinals.
In the win, hub Kyler Murray grabbed a wide receiver 29 times in 36 missions, for 400 yards on the air, as well as mustering 31 more times while running. In addition to joining his teammate for three major times, Murray crossed the goal line himself once with the ball in his hand. However, he has been the victim of two robberies.
For his part, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins finished the game 244 yards in the air, as well as making three touchdown passes. He was helped a lot by running back Dalvin Cook, who had 133 races and 17 yards.
Elsewhere in the NFL
In Los Angeles, in another early-night duel, Dallas Cowboys player Greg Zurlein gave his team a 20-17 victory over the Chargers, converting a field goal in the final game of the game.
In Seattle, the Tennessee Titans closed 14 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime before a 33-30 win over the Seahawks. Derek Henry ran back and crushed the opponent’s defense, amassing 237 total yards, as well as crossing the goal line three times.