NFL icon Tom Brady was brutally mocked by opposition defenders as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers sunk to defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion had led his team to an impressive 17-3 lead at half time but unravelled in the second half to fall 34-23. The result means the Bucs have slipped to a 6-8 record - but they somehow still possess a playoff berth thanks to their position atop the hapless NFC South.
During his illustrious time with the New England Patriots, Brady operated under the tutelage of head coach Bill Belichick as the duo became the greatest head coach-quarterback tandem in NFL history. Belichick would always make a point of controlling only what he could when it came to their opponents in order to not give them any extra motivation - but Brady may have breached his old regulations.
Since his high profile free agency move to the Buccaneers in 2020, the 45-year-old has been far more outspoken and charismatic. It appears that Brady has now suffered the repercussions for his new attitude and mentality.
Before facing the Bengals in Week 15, Brady spoke about the AFC North contenders on his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast. He said: “Great team, great young quarterback, fairly tough defence. Good skill players.
“They do a lot of things well. We're gonna have to put everything we got into it. Like everything we got. Mentally, physically, emotionally. There's a lot of things this time of year that can pull your focus away from where it needs to be. But we gotta put everything into it if we're gonna beat a good team.”
It appears the phrase ‘fairly tough defence’ was enough to frustrate the Bengals defensive players and inspire them to greater heights against Brady. Bengals stars Eli Apple and B.J. Hill came out of the locker room and clearly had not forgotten Brady’s slight.
“The future is now old man,” Apple said referring to Brady, who is in his 23rd NFL season. Hill looked directly into the cameras and added: “We're fairly tough on defence, remember that.”
The 6-8 Buccaneers will travel to face the 4-10 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.
