FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady walked to the podium with a limp following Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the result of a questionable hit he absorbed a few hours earlier.
The New England Patriots quarterback was knocked to the turf early in the third quarter after taking a helmet to the thigh from hard-hitting Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor.
Brady had not yet released the ball when Chancellor made contact, but the defender nonetheless was flagged for roughing the passer, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. Brady was slow to get up after the hit but remained in the game, which Seattle went on to win 31-24.
“It’s a little sore,” Brady said after the game. “But like I said, a lot of guys are pretty sore.”
Chancellor said he was not attempting to injure the Patriots signal-caller.
“I went for the swipe on the tackle, and he moved his arm, and I just fell down,” the defensive back told reporters, via WEEI.com. “I kind of just fell into him. It wasn’t intentional at all.”
Brady said the injury “didn’t have any impact” on his play following the hit. He chalked his goal-line fumble on the game’s final drive — which he recovered himself — up to poor communication and sloppy ball security.
“Yeah, that was just my fault on the ball handling,” he said. “I was going left, and (center David Andrews) thought I was going straight. It was just my mistake.”
Brady completed 23 of 33 passes for 316 yards in the loss. He was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season and threw his first interception since the 2015 AFC Championship Game.
“I just didn’t get a great throw on it,” Brady said of his pick, which came early in the second quarter. “I was kind of running back to left. We made some plays on scramble plays this year. I just didn’t get a great throw on that. I wish I would have, because we would have had a chance.”
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
