The New England Patriots had the chance to defeat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Nick Folk’s field goal attempt fell victim to the doink.
Tom Brady returned to the New England to play the Patriots for the first time since signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. It was far from easy for the seven-time Super Bowl champion, not only due to injuries on both sides of the ball and the rain, but he had to contend with former head coach Bill Belichick and his successor in Mac Jones.
On the final drive of the game, the Patriots faced a fourth-and-three situation and Belchick called upon Nick Folk to attempt a 56-yard field goal to potentially win the game. Folk’s kick appeared to be heading between the uprights, but it instead careened left and hit the post, creating the loudest doink we, and NFL Twitter have ever heard.
Patriots fall victim to the doink, leading to Buccaneers victory
It was a rough end of the game for the Patriots, as they looked to be on the verge of taking a late lead over Brady and the Bucs. Instead, the field goal hit loudly off the left upright.
Brady had far from the perfect game in his return to Gillette Stadium. Credit goes to Belichick for that, as he had a solid defensive game-plan for his former quarterback. Brady completed 22-of-43 his pass attempts for 269 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions.
But, Brady did make history, as he became the all-time passing yards leader in the first quarter. It was truly fitting that he broke Drew Brees’ record in the place he spent the first 20 years of his NFL career — New England.
Jones, who was selected 15th-overall in this year’s NFL Draft, did have his moments of rookie struggles, but kept the Patriots in the game. Jones threw for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while completing 31-of-40 of his passes.
The Patriots were oh so close to spoiling Brady’s trip back to New England, but they fell just short of that. They will look to gain their second win of the season next week when they face the Houston Texans. As for the Buccaneers, they will return home to Tampa Bay to host the Miami Dolphins.