Tom Brady's retirement news shocked the world on Saturday, and then the retraction from those close to the situation, including his father, as well as Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians, created an abnormal confusion that hasn't been resolved yet.
With a potential retirement confirmation coming soon, let's reminisce about the Bay Area-born quarterback's career against the team he grew up rooting for, the San Francisco 49ers.
Brady was 2-1 in his career against the 49ers, and all three games came while he was a part of the New England Patriots organization. The most memorable of those games, perhaps, is New England's 41-34 loss to Colin Kaepernick and Co. in 2012, when the two teams were involved in a shootout, with the 49ers eventually coming up on top in the three-hour and 40-minute bout.
In that game, Brady threw for 65 passes, which was a career-high, completing 36 of those attempts for 443 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. His 443 passing yards was his sixth-best mark of all time.
The 49ers got out to an early start, leading 31-3 at one point in Foxborough, but Brady and the Patriots steamrolled back, scoring 28 unanswered to tie the game at 31-31. However, following a LaMichael James 62-yard return and a 38-yard touchdown from Colin Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree, the Patriots couldn't come back, eventually losing 41-34.
Kaepernick threw just 25 passes compared to Brady's 65, completing 14 of those attempts for 225 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception.
Running back Frank Gore rushed for 83 yards on 21 attempts while catching two passes for 34 yards, complementing the 49ers defense and Colin Kaepernick to an extent,
The win placed the 49ers at 10-3-1 on the season, propelling them to eventually go on a playoff run and reach the Super Bowl that season, where they lost to Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Patriots lost to in the 2012 AFC Conference Championship Game, in a close affair.
Brady would play the 49ers once more following that, when the Patriots defeated the 49ers 30-17 in Week 11 of the 2016 season, Brady completed 24/40 passes, throwing for 280 yards and four touchdowns in the game.
While Brady reportedly wanted to join the 49ers after his contract expired with the New England Patriots, he eventually signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who haven't crossed paths with the 49ers since Jameis Winston was their quarterback.