Tom Brady, Julio Jones hook up for beautiful deep connection before halftime

BOSTON -- Tom Brady is 45 years old.

Tom Brady can still chuck the pigskin.

Brady took the field for the first time in 2022 on Sunday night in Dallas, kicking off his 23rd NFL season and third since leaving the Patriots. Though the Buccaneers couldn't find the end zone during the first half, Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich let it be known that they are quite happy to have Julio Jones on their team this year.

Jones joined the Bucs as a free agent in the offseason and was rather active in his debut, getting four targets in the passing game and taking two handoffs on speed sweeps. After rushing for a total of negative-3 yards over the past three seasons combined, Jones picked up 17 yards on the ground in his first half of football with the Bucs. 

But it was a traditional passing play that highlighted the potential of the Brady-Julio connection, as the 45-year-old QB and 33-year-old receiver put their Hall of Fame talents on display before halftime.

Facing a first-and-10 at his own 23-yard line, Brady took a shotgun snap and looked to his left before looking right and throwing a deep rainbow in rhythm to Jones. Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown was in some decently tight coverage on Jones, but ... that didn't matter.

Jones kept his eyes on the perfectly thrown ball and managed to stay with it and secure the catch while falling to the turf.

It was a catch that not too many wide receivers can make. The degree of difficulty was quite high.

The Bucs ended up settling for a field goal, a theme of the first half. But Jones finished the half with three catches on four targets for 69 yards, plus the 17 rushing yards on two attempts. Brady was 11-for-16 for 160 yards in the first half of his first game at age 45, taking two sacks and not throwing any touchdowns or picks.

Already armed with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Tom Brady now has another all-world talent at his disposal in Tampa.