Tom Brady and the terrible call: conspiracy or simple incompetence?
Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback – if not player – in NFL history. He has won seven Super Bowls and owns a ridiculous number of records, from most career passing touchdowns and yards to most quarterback wins. Nobody can question that he has earned his accomplishments but many, particularly on the teams he has beaten, can’t help but notice that he’s received some help from the officials.
On Sunday, the NFL world thought they saw the most egregious example yet. In the midst of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons, referee Jerome Boger called a roughing the passer call on defensive lineman Grady Jarrett on what looked like the cleanest possible sack on Brady. If this isn’t legal, how in the world is an opposing defense expected to bring Brady down?
The call came at a crucial point in the game as it would have forced the Bucs to punt and given Atlanta the ball back with three minutes left and a chance to take the lead. Instead, Tampa Bay were able to hold on to the ball and bleed the clock for a win that improved their record to 3-2. The Falcons, meanwhile, fall to 2-3, thanks at least in some small part to that confounding flag.
It’s hard to say that this was the worst roughing the passer call in NFL history, but it was certainly bad enough that it overshadowed everything else in the game. It didn’t help that it benefitted Brady, whose popularity has earned him “most favored nation” status around the league. It’s an open secret that Brady, above even most other star quarterbacks, tends to get the kind of dubious calls that drive opponents into conspiratorial thinking.
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It’s not a conversation that Brady particularly relishes delving into. When asked about the penalty after the game, he simply replied, “I don’t throw the flags.”
Fair point, so what about the person who threw the flag? Boger was asked about the call after the game – never a great sign for a referee – and his response was less than illuminating. “What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,” Boger told the media. “That is what I was making my decision based on.”
As USA Today’s Doug Farrar pointed out, this was the second controversial roughing the passer call that Boger has made in the past week. He made a similar one against Baltimore cornerback Brandon Stephens in the Ravens’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. Boger’s crew was also benched during last season’s playoffs.
So, in this one instance, at least, it may not be about Brady’s noted tendency to successfully lobby for flags or a league-wide mandate that the 45-year-old be protected above all for the benefit of the Ratings Gods. This story might just be your typical story of an official with a poor recent track record blowing another crucial call. However, given that Brady was the beneficiary, it was inevitable that the headlines were going to revolve around him.
MVP of the week
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills. Allen began the Bills’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a statement. A 98-yard statement. That’s how long his first touchdown to Gabe Davis went for on Sunday, tied for the longest offensive TD in franchise history and the longest thrown in the NFL since the first week of the 2016 season.
Allen was on pace to throw for 700 yards after the first half, collecting four passing touchdowns and a rushing one before halftime. He didn’t add to that total in the second half but that was all his team needed as the Bills defense held the Steelers scoreless after a first-quarter field goal. Buffalo won 38-3, boosted their record to 4-1 and dropped Pittsburgh’s to 1-4.
Video of the week
This hit by the Jets’ DT Quinnen Williams on Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was the highlight of New York’s 40-17 win. The Jets went to 3-2 with the victory, taking advantage of the fact that the Dolphins were without veteran Teddy Bridgewater, who was taken off the field with an injury early in the game. Bridgewater passed the concussion test, but the just-installed protocols meant that the Dolphins did not bring him back into the game. After what happened with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami’s last game, that was quite understandable.
That wasn’t the only bad injury news for Miami. After the game, Hill was seen wearing a walking boot. Head coach Mike McDaniel said that Hill’s foot was stepped on late in the game, so it apparently was unrelated to Williams’s hit.
Stat of the week
0-for-6. That’s how the Detroit Lions went on fourth-down attempts against the New England Patriots, setting an unenviable NFL record. It was a baffling 29-0 shutout for a Lions team that had averaged 35 points per game heading into Gillette. To make matters worse, the New England Patriots were starting third-string quarterback Bailey Zappe thanks to injuries to Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer. The Lions fell to 1-4 and the Patriots improved to 2-3 but they may have a QB controversy brewing. After all, Zappe wouldn’t be the first third-stringer to make the leap in New England.
Quote of the week
“He is always in a good spot. I do feel good when we go out there and the way we start the game and the openers. Again, it’s just how we start. And that’s part of the quarterback, too, getting him comfortable and settled down into the game to where he can get himself into a rhythm” – Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson stating his belief in his young quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
It’s been a tale of two Lawrences this season. After putting up the league’s best QBR at the start of the season, the top pick in the 2021 draft has looked utterly overmatched the last two games, throwing just two touchdowns while committing seven turnovers. Unsurprisingly, the Jaguars have lost both of those games, with Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans dropping their record to 2-3.
It’s been ugly to watch, but Pederson is right not to be too worried about the 23-year-old. As promising as their early start was, this Jacksonville team is still in the process of rebounding from the ugly Urban Meyer era. Lawrence isn’t a complete project yet and the version we’ve seen these last two games isn’t the real him any more than the one we saw briefly make Jacksonville resemble contenders. Keep the faith, Duval county.
Elsewhere around the league
• The Philadelphia Eagles headed into Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on Sunday with an undefeated record and they left it … still with an undefeated record. It looked like it might not be the case when the Arizona Cardinals tied the game 17-17 in the fourth quarter, but a late Cameron Dicker field goal put Philadelphia up for good as they solidified a perfect 5-0 start to the season. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are now 2-3, with all three losses occurring in their own stadium. Call it a home-field disadvantage.
• When the game comes down to a Justin Tucker field-goal from anything less than a few miles out, you may as well put the Baltimore Ravens down for the win. That was the case on Sunday Night Football as the kicker’s 43-yarder in the final seconds sealed a 19-17 win for Baltimore, who now take possession of first place in the AFC North. Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson were not at their best but the latter made some crucial plays with his legs on the final drive of the night.
• Chicago Bears receiver Darnell Mooney made this one-handed grab during their game against the Minnesota Vikings. It was a highlight for Chicago that turned around what was looking like a forgettable loss for the Bears. The Vikings were winning 21-3 before Chicago rattled off 19 straight points to take a 22-21 lead. Then Kirk Cousins rushed for a touchdown and pulled off a two-point conversion to seal a 29-22 victory and go 4-1. The Bears have fallen to 2-3, but deserve some credit for fighting back rather than just giving up early. In some seasons you have to settle for moral victories.
• Nobody would have had the New York Giants with a better record than the Green Bay Packers at this point of the season, but Daniel Jones and Co managed to pull off a 27-22 comeback victory in London to start off Sunday’s NFL action. The Giants are now 4-1 while the Packers are 3-2. New York’s reward? “Worst 4-1” immediately began trending on Twitter.
• Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson at least has an excuse for his poor performance against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night’s slog of a game. In the 12-9 overtime loss, Wilson was playing with a torn lat, which might explain his two interception/zero touchdown night.
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