Tom Brady's game with the New England Patriots against the New York Giants for the preseason finale was more than just a pick-up match. For him, it was his last game with the Patriots before serving his suspension for the 2016 NFL season.
On Thursday night, the Patriots took on the Giants at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The latter won the match with a final score of 17 to 9.
Despite the disappointing game, Patriots fans still enjoyed watching Brady lead the New England team during the entire first half of the match. In preseason standards, this was a surprising sight since teams rarely play their starters in these games.
During his time on the field, Brady was able to complete 16 out of his 26 passes with 166 yards, according to NFL.com.
Thursday night's game served as the last time Brady will be with the Patriots for the next month. Once the 2016 season kicks off, Brady will officially serve his four-game suspension, which was handed down to him by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit due to his involvement in the Deflategate scandal.
After a lengthy court battle which lasted for months, Brady announced in July of this year that he has accepted the terms of his suspension. Under the ruling, Brady will miss the Patriots' upcoming games against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. He will be eligible to return for the game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5.
During his absence, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will temporarily take over Brady's role.
Despite his suspension, Brady is feeling optimistic about the next few weeks. According to him, he plans to use his absence to learn more about the game.
"It will be tough to watch, but it will be fun to watch in some ways, to see what it looks like when you're not there," Brady said about his suspension according to Newsday. "That's a different perspective."
"Hopefully, I can use that perspective and then come back with better perspective, saying, ‘Wow, I really noticed some things that maybe I wouldn't have seen had I been there,'" he added. "So that's kind of what I'm going to try to do."
