Tom Brady ruins Jets' upset bid with game-winning TD pass in final seconds

The Jets had the chance to open 2022 with a huge upset. Instead, Tom Brady enjoyed another magical moment inside MetLife Stadium after a coaching breakdown on a play call left Robert Saleh feeling sick.

Saleh’s team led Tampa Bay by two touchdowns in the second half, but Brady erased that deficit and orchestrated a game-winning 93-yard drive to give the reigning Super Bowl champions a 28-24 victory Sunday afternoon in the Jets’ home finale.

In perhaps his final game against the Jets, Brady threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns, including a 33-yarder to Cyril Grayson Jr. with 15 seconds to go for the winning score.

Minutes earlier, the Jets had a chance to put the game away and not give the ball back to Brady, but a communication breakdown between offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and quarterback Zach Wilson cost them. Saleh put the loss on the coaches.

"They deserve better," he said of the players. "We won that game and we’ve got to be better for our players."

The Jets (4-12) had the ball with 7:36 left, up 24-20, and drove to the Tampa Bay 7. With just over two minutes left and the Bucs out of timeouts, Saleh decided to go for it on fourth-and-2, as a first down essentially would end the game.

The Jets called timeout with 2:17 left to make sure they had the right play, but the call turned out to be a puzzling one. Wilson ran a quarterback sneak up the middle for no gain.

Saleh said the play should have been a reverse for Braxton Berrios, who became the first Jets receiver to run for a touchdown and catch one in the same game.

Wilson had the option to keep it, but Saleh said LaFleur, a first-time coordinator, should have told him to hand the ball off and let Berrios make the play.

"Braxton is one of our best players. We wanted the ball in his hands," Saleh said. "We just didn’t communicate the way we needed to across the board. He executed the playbook. In that situation, we need to communicate to him, hand this ball off no matter what.

"If you look at the end zone, it’s a first down. So it just makes you sick."

That wasn’t even the most bizarre thing to happen in the game.

Tampa Bay receiver Antonio Brown, who has a history of behavioral problems, had a meltdown on the field. Brown got upset on the sideline, removed his jersey and left the field shirtless, waving for the fans to get up. Afterward, Bucs coach Bruce Arians said Brown no longer is on the team.

The Jets’ problems weren’t quite as dramatic, but you could feel the disappointment and disgust from Saleh with how the game ended.

When asked specifically what the communication should have been on that game-changing fourth-down call, Saleh said, "Mike to Zach. It’s simple. He calls the play and says hand this ball off no matter what. That’s all the communication that needs to be said."

Wilson defended LaFleur’s play-calling and final play call. Wilson said he saw an opening in the A-gap and thought he could get the first down.

"From an offensive perspective, we got to execute the play we had called," Wilson said. "They’re learning for next time too. If next time they really want that handed off, then we’ll communicate that. I just think when something doesn’t work out, it’s easy to say after the fact."

Wilson had a strong game otherwise. He was 19-for-33 for 234 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Berrios had eight catches for 65 yards and Ty Johnson scored a rushing touchdown. The Jets rushed for 150 yards.

Rob Gronkowski had seven catches for 115 yards, but it was the other former Patriot and Jets-killer who was too good when the game was on the line.

The Jets gave Brady the ball with 2:12 left and no timeouts, needing to go 93 yards. He did it with 15 seconds to spare.

After some short gains, Brady connected with Tyler Johnson on a 27-yard pass on second-and-10 from the Tampa Bay 30. He followed that with a 10-yard pass to Grayson to the Jets’ 33.

On the next play, Grayson beat safety Elijah Riley and Brady put it in the perfect spot for the winning touchdown.

"I just have a lot of confidence in the guys that I’m playing with," Brady said.

Former Jet Le’Veon Bell then ran in the two-point conversion.

The Jets had one last chance. Wilson got the ball at his own 30, and his pass on first down was incomplete. The game ended with Wilson throwing to Berrios, whose lateral was recovered by Tampa Bay.

"We’re a communication away from running out the last eight minutes of the clock," Saleh said. "In crunch time with 7 ½ minutes to go in the game, I thought our offense put together its best drive. We’re right frickin’ there to end it. End with the ball, take three knees and it’s over."