‘I don’t throw the flags’: Tom Brady responds to criticism and the Roughing the Passer penalty

After the Falcons’ Buccaneers won, many fans pointed to a controversial passer call roughing up on defensive tackle Grady Jarrett as the incident that sealed it.

Jarrett appeared to fire Bucs QB Tom Brady on a 3rd and 5, which could have given Atlanta the ball back with time to score and continue. Instead, the umpires threw a flag and called off a penalty, giving the Bucs a first down and Brady & Co. the clock could run out and could win 21-15.

Speaking on his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast Brady responded to the incident and those who criticized him after what happened.

“It was a long hug. A long, unwelcome hug from Grady,” the quarterback said. “He was in the backfield all day. Like I said after the game, I don’t throw flags.’

“What I do toss are tablets and I didn’t have any available at the time,” Brady joked – a link to the many times he frustrated a tablet on the sidelines.

Referee Jerome Boger defended his appeal to reporters and explained why he threw the flag.

“What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket and threw him to the ground unnecessarily,” Boger said. “I made my decision on that.”

Brady praised Jarrett’s playing and added: “He had a great game, I’ll leave it at that.”

After that call, the Falcons had a 3rd and 5th chance to stop the Bucs with just over two and a half minutes left. However, Brady completed an 18-yard pass to Mike Evans that brought the team to the two-minute warning and enabled Tampa Bay to end the game.