Tom Brady points figure at himself for Buccaneers' blown 17-point lead

Brady turned the ball over four times against the Bengals, leading to a 34-23 loss that dropped the Bucs to 6-8 on the season.

His poor play allowed the Bengals to roar back from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit. Beginning in the third quarter, Brady turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions. At the beginning of the sequence, Tampa Bay led 17-6. The Bucs trailed 27-17 afterward.

Per Pro Football Talk, Brady was 89-0 prior to Sunday when his team held a 17-point lead.

On his "Let's Go!" podcast, Brady addressed his poor performance with co-host Jim Gray. 

He said, "Losing sucks. ... There's not a lot of explanation. Unfortunately I've had to do too much of that this year. ... You can't win when the quarterback turns it over four times. And that's on me."

Brady's uneven play and Tampa Bay's season-long struggles have been jarring to witness. The seven-time Super Bowl-winning QB never lost more than seven games in a season before this year. As much as the rest of the NFC South worked to clear a path for the Bucs to walk to a division title, Tampa Bay's record leaves it with no margin for error, holding just a one-game lead.

Brady has completed 66 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. While those are far from poor numbers, he's been visibly frustrated throughout the 2022 campaign, and rightfully so. He's dealt with spotty protection and drops from wide receivers all year. 

Sunday's loss was on him, however. Brady admitted as much by saving the sharpest rebuke of his own play for Monday. 

The next object he smashes won't be a Surface tablet. 

It's more likely to be a mirror.