Notes and stats from the Buccaneers 31-29 win over the Cowboys

- Buccaneers QB Tom Brady became the first player in NFL history with 300 career starts. Playing in his 302nd-career game, Brady tied Brett Favre (302) for the ninth-most games played in NFL history.

- In his 300th career start, Brady completed 32-of-50 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He threw three-plus touchdowns in a game for the 94th time in his NFL career, surpassing Peyton Manning for the second-most such games in NFL history.

MOST 3+ PASSING TOUCHDOWN GAMES – NFL HISTORY

Rank Player (Seasons) Games

1. Drew Brees (2001-2020) 97

2. Tom Brady (2000-Present) 94

3. Peyton Manning (1998-2015) 93

4. Aaron Rodgers (2005-Present) 75

5. Brett Favre (1991-2010) 72

- Brady also has 34 career games with four-or-more touchdown passes – the third-most such games in NFL history.

- The game marked the 100th-career, 300-yard passing game of Brady’s career. Brady joins Drew Brees (123) as the only players in NFL history with 100-or-more, 300-yard passing games.

- On the first scoring drive of the season, Brady found WR Chris Godwin for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Godwin now has 25 career touchdown receptions, tying Mike Williams (25) for the seventh-most receiving touchdowns in team history.

MOST TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS IN BUCCANEERS HISTORY

Rank Player (Seasons) Rec. TD

1. Mike Evans (2014-Present) 61

2. Jimmie Giles (1978-86) 34

3. Kevin House (1980-86) 31

4. Cameron Brate (2014-Present) 29

5. Joey Galloway (2004-08) 28

6. Mark Carrier (1987-92) 27

7t. Chris Godwin (2017-Present) 25

7t. Mike Williams (2010-13) 25

9. Dave Moore (1992-2001, 2004-06) 24

10. Bruce Hill (1987-91) 23

- Godwin went over 100 yards receiving for the 12th time in his career, finishing with a team-high nine receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. Godwin tied Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster (12) for the most 100-yard receiving games by a member of the 2017 receiving class.

- For the 85th and 86th time in their careers, Brady connected with TE Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown, surpassing Steve Young and Jerry Rice (85) for the third-most regular season touchdown connections in NFL history.

MOST REGULAR-SEASON TOUCHDOWN CONNECTIONS IN NFL HISTORY

Rank Player (Seasons) Rec. TD

1. Peyton Manning & Marvin Harrison 112

2. Philip Rivers & Antonio Gates 89

3. Tom Brady & Rob Gronkowski 86

4. Steve Young & Jerry Rice 85

5. Dan Marino & Mark Clayton 79

- With a pair of touchdowns in the game, Gronkowski reached 88 career touchdown receptions, which put him in a tie with Don Maynard (88) for the 13th-most touchdown receptions in NFL history.

- Brady’s longest touchdown of the game came on a 47-yard strike to WR Antonio Brown, marking the 80th touchdown of Brown’s career. Brown finished the game as Tampa Bay’s leading receiver, hauling in five receptions for 121 yards and one touchdown. It was the 44th time in Brown’s career that he recorded 100-or-more receiving yards in a game – the 16th-most such games in NFL history.

- Brown now has 11,867 career receiving yards, surpassing Don Maynard (11,834) and Antonio Gates (18,841) for the 29th-most receiving yards in NFL history.

- Buccaneers LB Lavonte David started his 138th career game for Tampa Bay, surpassing former Buccaneers running back Mike Alstott (137) for the fifth-most starts in team history. David led the team with 11 tackles, adding one quarterback hit and one pass defensed.

MOST CAREER GAMES STARTED IN BUCCANEERS HISTORY

Rank Player (Seasons) GS

1. Ronde Barber (1997-2012) 232

2. Derrick Brooks (1995-2008) 221

3. Paul Gruber (1988-1999) 183

4. Tony Mayberry (1990-99) 145

5. Lavonte David (2012-Present) 137

- David notched a double-digit tackle total for the 36th time in his NFL career – the third-most such games in the NFL since he entered the league in 2012. LB Devin White finished second on the team with 10 tackles, securing the 11th game of his career with 10-or-more tackles.

- The NFL’s sack leader in 2019, Shaquil Barrett recorded Tampa Bay’s first sack of the 2021 season in the second quarter, dropping Cowboys QB Dak Prescott for a 12-yard loss.

- In the third quarter, Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis III notched the Buccaneers first takeaway of 2021, intercepting a third-quarter pass from Prescott and returning it 25 yards for his sixth-career interception. The interception was one of Davis’ three passes defensed in the game, which led the team.

- The Buccaneers defense limited the Cowboys to 60 net rushing yards, marking the 26th time in 33 games that Tampa Bay has held its opponent under 100 rushing yards since Todd Bowles took over as defensive coordinator in 2019. The Buccaneers 26 such games are five more than any other NFL team since the start of the 2019 season.

FEWEST 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES ALLOWED – SINCE 2019

Rank Team Games

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26

2t. Indianapolis Colts 21

2t. New Orleans Saints 21

4. Seattle Seahawks 18

5. Los Angeles Rams 17

- In the second quarter, Buccaneers WR Jaydon Mickens returned 41 yards, marking a new regular-season career long. His 92 total kickoff return yards marked the second-most in any game of his career.

- Players making NFL debut: LB K.J. Britt, LB Grant Stuard, OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka

- Players making Buccaneers regular season debut: RB Giovani Bernard, CB Dee Delaney

(Courtesy of the Buccaneers Communications Department.)