Tom Brady breaks a new record – and might be having the worst week ever
Tampa, Florida - Tom Brady may arguably be having one of the worst weeks of his life, as he's confirmed his divorce from his supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen and has broken a new NFL record – one that's not so desirable.
555 is a nice sounding triple digit number and it's one that's helped the star quarterback reach yet another football record – but not in a category he'd hoped to top.
It is now the number of the most sacks in the history of the NFL – the most times a quarterback has been tackled before being able to get rid of the ball.
The record 555th sack was delivered by Justin Houston of the Baltimore Ravens during Thursday night's game, which saw Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose 27-22 – the team's third loss in a row, which is a first for Brady since 2002.
The previous sacks record holder was Benjamin "Big Ben" Roethlisberger, who was thrown to the ground 554 times in NFL play when his career ended with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
While it's not surprising that Brady is now the most sacked quarterback in history, since the seven-time Super Bowl champ has been playing for over two decades, this year – for which he decided to backpedal on his decision to retire – marks one of his worst seasons in recent memory.
"We struggled at pretty much everything," Brady said after the Bucs' loss on Thursday. "We just didn’t play well enough to win."
Tom Brady reaches NFL record for most sacks in history
The new "best" comes on the heels of a sack controversy Brady was embroiled in just last week, for which the league slapped him with a huge fine.
Playing against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, Brady was punished for allegedly trying to kick Falcons pass rusher Grady Jarrett after getting sacked.
An extremely controversial referee decision deemed the defender brought Brady down too hard, and doled out a "roughing the passer" penalty. The automatic first down for Tampa may have contributed to Atlanta losing the game.
Many on social media disagreed with the call, while others did not agree that Brady retaliated to the athlete with a kicking motion in response.
As the 45-year-old continues to make headlines for his sour playing on the field and even more sour personal life off, time will tell if his team's five losses already this season will rack up even higher.
Cover photo: Mike Ehrmann / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP