Safe to say NFL play-callers might want to reconsider the next time they think about having Tom Brady on the receiving end of a trick play.
The Buccaneers quarterback stumbled a few steps down the sideline before he slipped and fell on his face all while running back Leonard Fournette tried to throw to Brady from the Wildcat formation. Fournette’s pass intended for the 45-year-old signal-caller was underthrown and Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen hauled in an easy interception near the Seattle 5-yard line.
“I wasn’t very close today,” Brady told reporters after Tampa Bay’s 21-16 Week 10 victory, per the team. “Unfortunately that corner (Woolen) is a former college receiver that jumps a lot higher than me and is much more athletic.”
Brady was bashed on Twitter following the embarrassing gaffe.
“I was hoping I’d be wide open, and I probably was on the first one, and I think they were pretty clued in on the second one and they yelled ‘Cover him, cover him!’ And I was on the sideline and I tried to yell, ‘Lenny, no!’ but it was too late,” Brady continued. “The ball went up in the air and I was trying to just, whatever, jump up and knock it down, but I ended up falling on my face.”
Fortunately for Brady and the Buccaneers, even the head-scratching decision midway through the third was not enough for the Seahawks to overcome Tampa Bay’s advantage. Seattle ultimately fumbled the ball back to Tampa Bay on the ensuing possession with the Buccaneers possessing a 14-3 edge.
Brady and company earned a 21-16 victory in Munich, Germany, behind a much better effort from Tampa Bay’s offense. The Buccaneers’ running game, which ranked last in the league entering Week 10, compiled 161 yards on the ground for a much-improved 3.7 yards per carry. Brady threw for 258 yards with touchdowns to Julio Jones and Chris Godwin.
The 5-5 Buccaneers got back to .500 with the victory and now head into a Week 11 bye as the NFC South leader.
