Ryan: Fears of an icy, bitter day of reckoning between Brady and Pats thaw under rainy skies at Gillette

FOXBOROUGH — The script sure seemed to write itself, didn’t it? 

Just minutes before Tom Brady strode out with his Buccaneers teammates from the Gillette Stadium visitors tunnel, the clouds that slowly crept over 1 Patriot Place finally opened up — releasing a deluge of cold, chilled rain.

It was a fitting setting for Brady’s long-anticipated (and largely dreaded) return to the stadium and franchise where he helped set the foundations for an unprecedented run of success. 

As a steady downpour fell upon more than 60,000 fans packed into the stands, said backdrop would be matched by the sentiment shared by an entire region that could only weep at what could have been — and what once was — as their former quarterback made his way to the opposite sideline on the inundated Gillette turf. 

Brady would twist the knife further by carving up some of those same teammates that he once battled with on steamy August mornings during training camp. Many of the fears projected by a Brady revenge tour would be validated, as he’d flip the double birds to Bill Belichick and any other parties that played a hand in the acrimonious divorce between franchise and quarterback. 

He’d leave the gridiron where he once reigned for close to two decades with a smile on his face — sending the fans that once cheered his name on a cold, soggy sojourn back to their cars. It’d be miserable. Solemn. And familiar to many Pats fans — who had become accustomed to Brady dealing such pain to Patriots foes for years and years.

Well, at least that sure seemed to be the expectation entering Sunday. 

Sure, the rain was unrelenting for most of the night. But such a scene didn’t set the stage for a death blow for a Patriots franchise. 

Rather than fold and give in to doom-and-gloom permeating through the radio waves and TV feeds over the past week, fans were defiant in the face of their former QB — with early cheers giving way to boos and a cacophony of jeers whenever the Tampa offense looked to orchestrate fruitful drives.  

For as much Tom Brady Sr. had stoked the flames of a potential beatdown by Tampa Bay, there was no such pillaging and plundering from the Buccaneers.

Perhaps it was the manner in which Sunday night’s showdown played out — in which Brady (22-of-43, 269 yards, zero touchdowns) was rendered mortal and the Bucs were bailed out by a failed 56-yard kick from Nick Folk that clanged off the left upright — that set the tone for how Brady digested Tampa’s victory. 

But less than an hour after the former Patriots QB bested his former club and his longtime coach, Brady sure didn’t seem like the embodiment of vengeance that most fans expected would be unleashed on them. 

Instead, Brady spent most of his time with the media reflecting not on what could have been, but rather, how good it really was in this building.

“It was a very emotional week,” Brady remarked. “Again, these guys are like my brothers, you know what I mean? There are two groups of people, all my Bucs teammates that I love and I'm going to battle with every week, and then there is another group of guys that I see, and those are my friends that I been with for a long time. 

"Matt Slater and Kyle Van Noy and Dont'a Hightower and John (Jones) and Devin [McCourty] and David Andrews and (Brian) Hoyer. There is a whole crew. Josh [McDaniels]. These are the people that I've shared my life with. Very grateful for everything they've kind of contributed to my life. I’m very blessed."

Of course, Brady has never been one to necessarily gloat or pat himself on the back after a win. But what about his Bucs teammates or his usually candid coach in Bruce Arians? Surely this had to feel good for them to give their QB a win that has been circled on his calendar for months, right? Well, they didn’t take the bait either. 

"I was very, very frustrated with everybody saying this was a quarterback and a coach,” Arians said. “This is a team sport. The Bucs won this game. We beat the Patriots. We were losing sight that this is a team game. Everybody wanted to make this all about Brady and Belichick. I don't think Bill played a snap.

"He had 22 guys out there playing their ass off, and I knew he would. We had 22 guys out there playing their asses off. One of them just happened to be named Brady.”

Of course, all of the discourse, the drama and of the reported venom spewed out ever since Brady headed south to Florida all seems to be traced back to the future Hall of Famer and his relationship with his former head coach in Belichick.

And given the brief, awkward hug delivered on the field between master and apprentice, perhaps those bitter feelings between the two primary architects of the Patriots dynasty would still linger on — instead of finally being settled now that proper validation had been achieved by the latter. 

But after meeting with Belichick in the Bucs locker room for close to 20 minutes, Brady did what he could to snuff out the flames regarding his contentious relationship with his former coach. 

“We’ve got a personal relationship for 20-plus years. He drafted me here,” Brady said of Belichick. “We've had a lot of personal conversations that should remain that way and are very private.

“And I would say so much is made of our relationship. You know, as I said earlier this week, from a player's standpoint you just expect the coach to give you everything he's got, and I'm sure as a player that's what he was hoping from me. But nothing is really accurate that I ever see. It's all kind of – definitely doesn't come from my personal feelings or beliefs. I got a lot of respect for him as a coach and obviously a lot of respect for this organization and all the different people here that try to make it successful.” 

Of course, this is still Tom Brady — the man who ascended to the top of football and the entire sporting world off of a steady diet of internal drive and validation. Did he want to deliver a knockout blow to the Patriots and drop 40 on his old team? Of course. 

But as Greg mapped out earlier this week, now that the drama and anxiety that came with Brady’s return has now come and gone — all parties can move forward.

Brady can continue to forge ahead with his new team in hopes of another Super Bowl run, while the Patriots can build for a future with a young QB in Mac Jones that nearly stole the spotlight from the 44-year-old legend on Sunday.

Years from now, fans won’t remember the fears that loomed over this week. Hell, they may not even remember what transpired on the field as the rains fell down on Gillette Stadium. But they will remember the countless memories forged when Brady was their quarterback. It's a feeling shared by the man in the huddle who — much like the rest of us — might finally have closure. 

"It's been a great stadium for me for a long time. I don't know what the future holds," Brady said when asked if this could have been his final game at Gillette. "Obviously could be an opportunity to come back here. We'll see. I feel like I'll always be a part of this community. I'll be up here quite a bit when it's all said and done. When I retire I'm sure there will be a lot of time for – you know, I have a lot of friends up here and it's a great place. My kids were born on Beacon Street in the city. It's been an amazing place for me.

"It still is."