Bengals players clap back at Tom Brady in tunnel after Cincinnati's comeback win over Buccaneers
With over two decades of NFL experience, one would think that quarterback Tom Brady would know not to give an opposing team extra motivation. Yet, that's exactly what he did this past week. Before the Week 15 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, the 45 year old quarterback referred to the defense as "fairly tough" when discussing the upcoming matchup on the Let's Go! podcast.
While Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started strong, the second half of the game was a completely different story as Cincinnati caused four turnovers.
The Bengals scored 31 unanswered points in the second half before Tampa got back on the board for the first time since the second quarter. This is the first time Tom Brady has lost a home game after having a 17 point lead.
After the game, Paul Dehner Jr. (a Bengals reporter for The Athletic) captured some of the Bengals players' comments. Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple, walked into the tunnel after the win and had some choice words for the veteran quarterback, telling him:
“The future is now old man."
Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill also commented on his way to the locker room, saying:
“We’re fairly tough on defense, remember that.”
Eli Apple and BJ Hill with a couple messages for Tom Brady. Hill obviously heard the “fairly tough” comment this week. https://t.co/6CGe9FbZ6L
The Cincinnati Bengals have now won six straight games, are 10-4 on the season and have sole possession of the AFC North. The Bucs, althoughy just 6-8 are still atop the struggling NFC South division.
Tom Brady has first ever eight loss season
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 6-8 after 15 weeks of the NFL regular season. This is the first time ever in Tom Brady's storied career that he has lost eight games in a regular season. And yet somehow, Tampa Bay's under .500 record still has them in the lead of the NFC South and thus the number four seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Tom Brady lost a 17-point lead for the first time ever to lose an 8th regular season game for the first-season ever and Bill Belichick’s team now owns perhaps the most situationally bone-headed play of all-time.
The NFL Earth is off its axis.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' next task will be the Arizona Cardinals, who are without quarterback Kyler Murray. They may also be without backup quarterback Colt McCoy, who suffered a concussion in Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos.
Facing the Arizona Cardinals' defense led by J.J. Watt will be Brady's next task. If the quarterback has learned anything this week, it's not to discuss the opposing team's defense ahead of the matchup.