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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TD Time for Tommy and Gronky

Super Bowl Data Crunch, Offense: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are now the most prolific touchdown duo in NFL postseason history…Plus, the Bucs have nearly matched the all-time record for Super Bowl wins of 20-plus points, and much more

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It's pretty clear from the "Tommy & Gronky" show that Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are very comfortable hanging out together. As they reminded everyone in Super Bowl LV, one of their favorite places to get together is the end zone.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Brady as an unrestricted free agent on March 20 and then reunited him with his long-time Patriots pal through an April trade for the suddenly un-retired Gronkowski on April 21. The pair reached peak Tommy & Gronky phase on February 7, hooking up for the first two touchdowns of Super Bowl LV to propel the Buccaneers to a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

By getting back together for a second go-around, Brady and Gronkowski were able to break a tie between them and a pair of Hall-of-Famers for the most postseason touchdown passes between two teammates.

Most Postseason Touchdown Passes Between Two Teammates, NFL History

Table inside Article
QB WR/TE/RB Team(s) TDs
Tom Brady Rob Gronkowski Patriots/Bucs 14
Joe Montana Jerry Rice 49ers 12
Brett Favre Antonio Freeman Packers 10

Gronkowski's excitement level was at 100 after he won his second Super Bowl in three seasons (with a year of retirement in between), and so was his touchdown level. Gronkowski scored on an eight-yard catch in the first quarter and a 17-yard grab in the second quarter, and those two trips to the end zone increased his career total, including playoffs, to exactly 100 touchdown receptions. As for his 14 scoring grabs in the postseason, only Rice has more.

Most Postseason Touchdown Receptions, NFL History

Table inside Article
Player Team(s) Rec. TDs
Jerry Rice 49ers/Raiders 22
Rob Gronkowski Patriots/Buccaneers 14
John Stallworth Steelers 12
Larry Fitzgerald Cardinals 10
Randy Moss Vikings/Patriots/49ers 10
Hines Ward Steelers 10
Fred Biletnikoff Raiders 10
Antonio Freeman Packers 10

With his first two touchdown catches as a Buccaneer, Gronkowski also tied for the franchise's career postseason record in that category.

Most Career Postseason Touchdown Receptions, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Postseason(s) Rec. TDs
Mike Evans 2020 2
Rob Gronkowski 2020 2
Keenan McCardell 2002 2
Many tied w/ 1

Meanwhile, Brady just continued to pile on his record postseason passing totals, which are currently well out of reach of any other player. Those include (with the next quarterback on the list in parentheses:

Table inside Article
• Pass Attempts: 1,764 (Peyton Manning, 1,027)
• Completions: 1,106 (Manning, 649)
• Passing Yards: 12,449 (Manning, 7,339)
• Touchdown Passes: 83 (Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers, 45)

Obviously, Brady also is the all-time leader in those categories in Super Bowls alone. Brady has played in a record 10 Super Bowls and won a record seven championship rings (more than any single NFL franchise has won), and along the way set these career Super Bowl records:

Table inside Article
• Pass Attempts: 421 (Manning, 155)
• Completions: 277 (Manning, 103)
• Passing Yards: 3,039 (Kurt Warner, 1,156)
• Touchdown Passes: 21 (Montana, 11)

For the 12th time in his 45 career postseason starts, Brady threw three touchdown passes, as he also hooked up with Antonio Brown on a one-yard TD just before halftime. That was Brown's sixth postseason touchdown catch and his first in a Super Bowl. Brady also has the most three-touchdown games by a quarterback in NFL postseason history.

Most Postseason Games with 3+ Touchdown Passes, NFL History

Table inside Article
Quarterback Team(s) Games
Tom Brady Patriots/Buccaneers 12
Joe Montana 49ers/Chiefs 9
Aaron Rodgers Packes 8
Brett Favre Packers/Vikings 6
Peyton Manning Colts/Broncos 6

Brady's 10 touchdowns in the 2020 postseason are the most ever by a Buccaneers quarterback, both in terms of a single postseason and career playoff production. Brad Johnson is next with five. Brady also extended his streak to 11 straight games with at least two touchdown passes, which is a Buccaneer record. It is not an NFL record, nor even his own longest streak in that category, though he does already own a share of the record with a 14-game streak across the 2010-11 seasons. Aaron Rodgers also owns a streak of 14 straight games with at least two touchdown passes. Of course, Brady's streak is the longest active one, so he'll enter the 2021 season with a chance to break his own record.

The Super Bowl matchup of Brady and Kansas City star Patrick Mahomes represented two of the three quarterbacks who have ever thrown 50-plus touchdown passes in a single regular season. Brady hit that number exactly in 2007, as did Mahomes in 2018. Peyton Manning, who set the single-season NFL record with 55 touchdown passes in 2013 with the Broncos, was also on site for Super Bowl LV in order to be recognized for his selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2021.

With his 10 postseason touchdown passes, Brady finished the 2020 campaign, including the regular season, with exactly 50. He and Peyton Manning are the only two quarterbacks in NFL history with multiple seasons of 50-plus touchdown passes, including the postseason.

Most Touchdown Passes, Single Season Including Playoffs, NFL History

Table inside Article
Quarterback Team Season TDs
Peyton Manning Broncos 2013 60
Tom Brady Patriots 2007 56
Dan Marino Dolphins 1984 56
Drew Brees Saints 2011 53
Patrick Mahomes Chiefs 2018 53
Peyton Manning Colts 2004 53
Aaron Rodgers Packers 2020 53
Tom Brady Buccaneers 2020 50

Brady completed four passes to running back Leonard Fournette for 46 yards in Sunday's Super Bowl. Fournette also ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, giving him a team-high 135 yards from scrimmage on the evening. That was the second-highest yards-from-scrimmage total in Buccaneers postseason history, and the most in a Super Bowl. He also topped 100 yards from scrimmage in the Wild Card win at Washington and the Divisional Round victory at New Orleans on the way to Super Bowl LV. Fournette now owns three of the eight games in Buccaneers postseason history with 100-plus yards from scrimmage. Five of those eight games were recorded during the 2020 postseason.

Most Yards from Scrimmage, Single Postseason Game, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Opponent Date Rush Rec. Total
Ricky Bell Eagles 12/29/79 142 0 142
Leonard Fournette Chiefs* 2/7/21 89 46 135
Leonard Fournette Football Team 1/9/21 93 39 132
Michael Pittman Raiders* 1/26/03 124 0 124
Mike Evans Football Team 1/9/21 0 119 119
Chris Godwin Packers 1/24/21 6 110 116
Leonard Fournette Saints 1/17/21 63 44 107
Keyshawn Johnson Eagles 1/19/03 0 106 106

(* Super Bowl.)

Fournette also had 74 yards from scrimmage in the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay, giving him a total of 448 in the 2020 postseason. That's the most ever in a single postseason in Buccaneers history, nearly doubling Michael Pittman's previous record of 245. It also ranks as the ninth-highest total in a single postseason in NFL history.

Most Yards from Scrimmage, Single Postseason, NFL History

Table inside Article
Player Team Season Rush Rec. Total
John Riggins Washington 1982 610 15 625
Terrell Davis Denver 1997 581 38 619
Marcus Allen L.A. Raiders 1983 466 118 584
Larry Fitzgerald Arizona 2008 0 546 546
Thurman Thomas Buffalo 1990 390 154 544
Terrell Davis Denver 1998 468 69 537
Eddie George Tennessee 1999 449 72 521
Derrick Henry Tennessee 2019 449 18 467
Leonard Fournette Tampa Bay 2020 300 148 448
Hakeem Nicks N.Y. Giants 2011 0 444 444

In fact, Fournette nearly broke Mike Alstott's career Buccaneers record for postseason yards from scrimmage this January and February.

Most Career Yards from Scrimmage, Buccaneers Postseason History

Table inside Article
Player Postseason Games Rush Rec. Total
Mike Alstott 10 341 161 502
Leonard Fournette 4 300 148 448
Warrick Dunn 6 219 168 387
Keyshawn Johnson 5 0 375 375
Michael Pittman 5 187 155 342

Fournette's 27-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave him his fourth score of the 2020 postseason, as he found paydirt once in each of the Bucs' four playoff games. As such, he matched Terrell Davis (Denver, 1997) and Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona, 2008) as the only players in league history to score in four straight games in a single postseason.

Fournette joined Alstott as the only Buccaneers ever to score four touchdowns in a single postseason.

Most Touchdowns Scored, Single Postseason, Buccaneers History

Table inside Article
Player Season TDs
Mike Alstott 2002 4
Leonard Fournette 2020 4
Antonio Brown 2020 2
Mike Evans 2020 2
Rob Gronkowski 2020 2
Keenan McCardell 2002 2
Dwight Smith 2002 2
Mike Alstott 1997 2
Ricky Bell 1979 2

By beating the Chiefs by that 31-9 margin, the Buccaneers became the first team in league history to score 30-plus points in four straight games in a single postseason. Tampa Bay tallied a total of 123 points in wins over Washington, New Orleans, Green Bay and Kansas City, producing the fourth-highest scoring postseason of all time.

Most Points in a Single Postseason, Team, NFL History

Table inside Article
Team Season Points
San Francisco 1984 131
San Francisco 1989 126
Baltimore 2012 124
Tampa Bay 2020 123
Green Bay 2010 121

The Buccaneers beat the Chiefs by 22 points in Super Bowl LV, and that's not the franchise's most lopsided Super Bowl victory. Tampa Bay demolished the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season. Though they have only played in two Super Bowls so far, the Buccaneers are one of only three teams to own two Super Bowl victories by margins of 20 or more points.

Most Super Bowl Victories By 20-Plus Point Margins, NFL History

Table inside Article
Team No. Super Bowls
San Francisco 3 XIX, XXIV, XXIX
Tampa Bay 2 XXXVII, LV
Dallas 2 VI, XXVII
six tied w/ 1

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