Thanksgiving has left the New England Patriots and Tom Brady special memories over the years, including an infamous moment that turned a decade old this year.
The holiday even marked Brady’s NFL debut, which occurred exactly 22 years ago on Wednesday.
It was far from a spectacular first showing in the league for Brady, as the then-rookie came in for mop-up duty in relief of Drew Bledsoe in a 34-9 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions.
But ESPN still recognized Brady’s first appearance by sending out a tweet about it Wednesday. Brady weighed in, too, but the all-time quarterback comically recalled his debut instead of getting all sentimental.
In fact, Brady poked fun at himself for just how bad things went before he finally completed the first pass of his illustrious career to Rod Rutledge. Here is how it all unfolded according to Brady:
It was far from a stellar start from Brady as he went 1-for-3 passing for six yards against the Lions. That was the only game he appeared in as a rookie for the Patriots. But things ended up turning out quite all right for the legendary signal-caller.
While the Patriots will play on Thanksgiving again this year versus the Minnesota Vikings, Brady gets ready to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5) against the Cleveland Browns (3-7) on Sunday. Kickoff from FirstEnergy Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
