ATLANTA – Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski teamed up for more history Sunday.
Rarely have two guys had such a connection.
Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns – two of them to his longtime favorite target – and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved to the brink of clinching the NFC South title with a 30-17 division victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
The 44-year-old Brady was 38-of-51 passing, including touchdowns of 27 and 11 yards to Gronkowski. Those were their first connections for scores since the Bucs beat the Falcons 48-25 on Sept. 19 in Tampa Bay, but they added to a long list of Brady-to-Gronkowski touchdowns that includes their time with the New England Patriots.
The prolific pair have combined for 90 regular-season touchdowns, passing San Diego Chargers greats Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates for No. 2 in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison had more, hooking up for 112 with the Indianapolis Colts. Counting the playoffs, Brady has thrown 104 touchdown passes to Gronk, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end who came out of a brief retirement to join him with the Bucs last year.