Tom Brady's New England return breaks Sunday Night Football TV records

More than 28.5 million viewers watched Tom Brady’s return to New England on NBC, according to Front Office Sports. The Sunday Night Football game produced record-setting viewership in Tampa Bay and ranks second all-time in total viewers.

The only Sunday Night Football game to outperform New England and Tampa Bay was the 2012 Week 17 meeting between Dallas and Washington. That game offered a “win-and-in” scenario for both teams as they battled for the NFS East title.

The top 10 markets for Sunday’s record-breaking game include the expected Florida and New England markets, with Cincinnati coming in at No. 6 and Cleveland at No. 8. The only other market outside the two geographic footprints was Las Vegas at No. 10.

Despite being Tampa Bay’s most watch game, it was still outperformed by Providence and Boston on Sunday.

Tom Brady’s record-breaking return

As Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady returned to his former team’s stadium, he received an ovation while taking the field from the tunnels and boos when he began his first drive.

Brady dealt with a mountain of emotions in his return to New England, where he spent the first 20 years of his career. Throughout the game, Tom Brady added a pair of NFL record-setting moments to the list of reasons to remember the return.

On a 28-yard strike down the middle to wide receiver Mike Evans, Tom Brady passed long-time competitor Drew Brees, who was in attendance as a member of the NBC broadcast, for the top spot on the NFL’s all-time leader passer list.

As fans and players congratulated Brady and a graphic showed up on the jumbotron, the Buccaneers took a timeout for their quarterback to further revel in the moment. The road team came away with a field goal after another pass to Antonio Brown put the record in the rearview.

Tom Brady passed Brees’ mark of 80,358 career yards, which he chased over the final years of their careers until the old NFL record holder retired this offseason.

He also became the fourth NFL quarterback to have a win against all 32 NFL teams. Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning are the only other three quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.

Added emotions surround Brady with his parents and family in attendance, sitting in a box reserved for the opposing quarterback in an unprecedented move by Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Reunions and records are part of life for the veteran quarterback in his 22nd season, but Sunday night stands out.