Did Tom Brady hand the baton off to Matthew Stafford?

McVay beats Brady in Rounds Two-Four

It was not the fact so much that the LA Rams lost in Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots, but rather it was the way that the Rams lost. Prior to that loss, the LA Rams was only shut down once in the 2018 NFL Season, a game against the Chicago Bears where the Rams failed to score a touchdown, losing by the mark of 15-6. The Bears made presnap adjustments on defense, which the Patriots emulated with a similar impact, holding the Rams high octane offense to just three points.

But when 2020 rolled in, the LA Rams had a chance to play both Brady and his former team, the Patriots, separately. In Week 11, the Rams had a chance to face, and defeat Brady and the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay by a score of 27-24. Brady’s reaction? He stormed off the field without shaking winning QB Jared Goff’s hand

Round Two went to the LA Rams. Three weeks later, in Week 14, the LA Rams had a chance to settle scores with the Patriots and repaid them for that SB loss, winning by a score of 24-3. Round Two-B went to the Rams as well.

2021 Rams take over the NFC

There was a lot of promotional marketing when the LA Rams hosted the Buccaneers in Week 3 of the 2021 NFL Season. Since the Buccaneers had closed out the 2020 regular season on a four-game winning streak before winning four games in the post-season, the Bucs entered the game on a 10-game winning streak. The Rams ended up winning that game by a score of 34-24, and the game was even more lopsided than the final score. Rams win Round Three.

The Rams faced off against Brady’s Bucs once more in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. The final score ended 30-27, but the Rams had taken a 27-3 lead in the game before miscues allowed the Buccaneers back into the game. The game was decided on the buzzer-beating field goal from placekicker Matt Gay. The Rams won Round Four. Not surprisingly, there are no pictures of losing quarterback Tom Brady ever shaking hands with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford after either loss.

The writing was on the wall. Brady would likely face Stafford and the Rams in the NFC playoffs going forward, and that would likely end his dominance of the NFL. So retirement surely seemed like a better option.