Tom Brady and the Buccaneers were able to clinch the NFC South on Sunday via their 30-21 win over the Panthers.
While Tampa Bay's second-half performance was admirable, Brady's acting job on a play in the second half was decidedly not.
Brady tried to draw a cheap roughing-the-passer call after he was shoved by Derrick Brown after throwing a pass. The officials didn't buy it, nor should they have.
— sportsvids99 (@sportsvids991) January 1, 2023
Indeed, that was a big-time flop by the veteran quarterback. He was hopeful that he would be able to dupe the officials into throwing an unwarranted flag to give the Bucs a better chance of closing out a win over the Panthers.
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The officials saw through his act though. So did social media.
Brady with the worst flop this year
— Kurt Benkert 🧑🏽🚀 (@KurtBenkert) January 1, 2023
Tom Brady acting like he got shot to get a roughing the passer call lmao pic.twitter.com/cYjn6pUSR8
— John (@iam_johnw) January 1, 2023
Tom Brady channeled LeBron James on that flop…
— Keith Bennett (@KeithB980) January 1, 2023
The play left Brady a bit frustrated, which he let shine through later in the game.
Brady was whistled for a delay-of-game penalty in the fourth quarter after he was sacked on a fourth down by Frankie Luvu. The veteran boiled over and spiked the ball after the play, which led to the penalty.
Tom Brady gets called for delay of game after spiking the ball pic.twitter.com/OT3iDNB9gp
— heaven highlight (@highlghtheaven) January 1, 2023
Though Brady did have a couple of moments on Sunday, Tampa Bay's offensive execution was largely cleaner than it had been in recent weeks. Perhaps they are peaking at the right time as they get ready for a playoff date with the NFC's top wild-card team (likely the Cowboys).
But if not, expect Brady to wear his emotions on his sleeve during the postseason; and don't be surprised if he tries to bait the officials into more calls, too.
