Tom Brady offers words of wisdom to Dan Campbell's Lions after controversial loss to Cowboys
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady shared his thoughts about the latest football topics on the Let’s Go! Podcast with Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald. In a recent episode, he revealed he will start his new role as Fox Sports color commentator for NFL games this September.
Brady also gave his take on the Week 17 encounter between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. He gave his part in the controversial ending, allowing Mike McCarthy’s crew to escape with a 20-19 victory. As for Dan Campbell’s squad, Brady told them to focus on what’s next.
Tom Brady told the Detroit Lions to press forward after controversial loss
The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player told Gray that the Detroit Lions are better off erasing the bitter memory of that defeat.
Tom Brady said:
"The only thing you can do if you are the Lions is trying to control what you can control, which is what's ahead of you... A lot of things don't go your way. A lot of things do go your way.
"And if I was in that locker room hopefully that would bring us together, just alright guys. You know we got a tough break. didn't go the way we wanted or you know what we thought we did."
What happened in the Lions-Cowboys game that Tom Brady mentioned?
In that game, Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, trimming the Cowboys’ lead to one, 20-19, with 23 seconds left in regulation. Dan Campbell opted for a two-point conversion, which the Lions successfully ran after Goff found offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone.
However, game officials ruled it an illegal touch because Decker allegedly did not report as an eligible receiver. As a result, Detroit got two more opportunities at a two-point try, including an incomplete pass to St. Brown negated by a Cowboys penalty. Goff failed to connect with tight end James Mitchell in the final play.
The Lions could have won if Decker was declared an eligible receiver. But while there were claims he didn’t report to a game official as an eligible receiver, some videos being circulated online might have supported Detroit’s claim that Decker reported, with one of the men ensuring the game’s fairness.
The victory gave the Cowboys, last season’s playoff tormentors of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an 11-5 record with one game left to play. However, they haven’t won the NFC East because they have an identical record with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Cowboys will visit the Washington Commanders, while the Eagles will face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Week 18.
Meanwhile, a victory over Dallas could have improved Detroit’s record to 12-4, keeping their hopes for the NFC’s top seed alive. Instead, the San Francisco 49ers clinched the Wild Card Round bye.