Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, plus Justin Verlander, Trea Turner land in NL East on massive deals

Good morning to everyone but especially to…

TOM BRADY AND THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

There isn’t much Tom Brady hasn’t done in his unparalleled NFL career game. But somehow, some way he found a way to accomplish a career first in his 377th career game. Brady led two late touchdown drives to stun the Saints, 17-16.

It’s Brady’s first comeback from at least 13 points down in the final five minutes of a game. Here’s how it happened:

To put things in perspective, Tampa Bay gained 154 yards on its final two offensive drives after gaining 143 yards on its previous eight drives combined. This post from our social team really says it all:

Brady rightfully credited his defense for keeping things within reach, and when given just a faint glimmer of hope he took full advantage. It’s a storyline that’s played out time after time in his career, but, on Monday, it came under circumstances even he had never overcome.

At 45 years old, Brady keeps finding ways to outdo himself.

Honorable mentions And not such a good morning for… Getty Images

BAKER MAYFIELD

From face of the franchise to reclamation project to out of a job. That’s the path Baker Mayfield — 2018 No. 1 pick and 2020 playoff quarterback — has taken after he was waived by the Panthers on Monday.

The 49ers have an obvious need at quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending broken foot, but San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan downplayed that possibility. Shanahan opting for a former last-overall pick (Brock Purdy) over a former first-overall pick sums up Mayfield’s decline.

Still, there are plenty of potential landing spots for Mayfield, writes NFL scribe Jordan Dajani.

Not so honorable mentions Justin Verlander, Trea Turner sign massive deals with NL East teams at Winter Meetings ⚾

Why worry about losing your two-time Cy Young ace when you can replace him with a three-time winner (including in 2022) who’s also a reigning World Series champion? That’s what the Mets have done, signing Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86.6-million deal just days after Jacob deGrom left for the Rangers.

The move reunites him with former teammate and fellow three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, and their combined numbers are stunning, notes MLB reporter Matt Snyder. Verlander and Scherzer spent five seasons together in Detroit, and while they led the way to four straight AL Central titles for the Tigers, they never won a World Series together. They’ll hope to change that in the Big Apple.

The Phillies saw the Mets’ big move and decided to make one of their own: Trea Turner signed an 11-year, $300-million deal with Philadelphia, adding even more firepower to an already explosive lineup.

Turner is a star — he was ranked as our fourth-best free agent this offseason — and, more importantly, Philadelphia is a perfect landing spot, Matt writes.

Rating all 41 bowl games from best to worst 🏈 USATSI

With all the talk of the College Football Playoff, it’s easy to forget there are 41 bowl games in total. Lucky for you, our Tom Fornelli has ranked all 41.

Number one is no surprise:

Here’s the rest of the top five:

As someone who absolutely loves watching Caleb Williams play football, I’ll be locked into the Cotton Bowl, but Tom predicts even more points in his sixth-ranked bowl game. I won’t tell you which one that is, but you can see for yourself right here.

World Cup recap: Brazil dominates South Korea, will face Croatia in quarterfinal ⚽ Getty Images

There are few things in sports as beautiful as Brazilian soccer at its best. With dazzling dribbling and precise passing, Brazil cruised past South Korea, 4-1 on Monday and into the quarterfinal.

It was a much-needed offensive outburst from Brazil, writes soccer insider Roger Gonzalez.

Brazil will take on Croatia in the quarterfinal after Croatia snuck by Japan, 1-1 (3-1 pen.) The reigning runners-up trailed 1-0 at halftime following Daizen Maeda’s goal, but Ivan Perisic evened things early in the second half. Dominic Kivakovic made two saves in the penalty shootout, and Mario Pasalic provided the decisive goal.

Be sure to sign up for the Golazo Starting XI newsletter.

What we’re watching Tuesday 📺

⚽ We’re watching the World Cup. Here’s the schedule.🏀 No. 17 Illinois at No. 2 Texas, 7 p.m. on ESPN🏀 Lakers at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT🏀 Iowa at No. 15 Duke, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN🏀 No. 13 Maryland at Wisconsin, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2🏀 Mavericks at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT