Cameras caught a heated moment between Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line during Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tom, 45, tore into his teammates by telling them they are “so much better than the way you’re f-cking playing,” something that he said he regrets during Monday’s episode of the SiriusXM podcast Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray. “I don’t know if it’s motivation,” said Tom of the sideline tantrum, “but I do think that it’s a bad day when there’s more f-bombs than touchdowns. So, that was not one of my better days.”
“But f-bombs, they used to kind of keep from showing you in those moments but now it’s kind of for the world to see. So that’s just the way it is,” added Brady. When asked how the other Bucs take Tom’s “motivation” at the moment, Brady says that everything is “all good” on the squad. “You know, I think I have a great rapport with all my teammates, and they know that the only reason why I’m doing it is to try to motivate ’em and try to get us to a higher level. It’s nothing that I don’t say, you know, if I don’t feel like we’re living up to the expectations and playing up to the expectations that we’re capable of then that’s my job.”
“I’m a quarterback,” continued Tom. “I’m not expecting the right tackle to do it. I’m not expecting the running back to do it. I’m not expecting the receiver to do it. I’m expecting myself to do it. I’m the one out there speaking in the huddle, calling the plays. That’s what my job is to try to get us going and to try to rally us. And there are a lot of ways to do it. And sometimes it’s some positive encouragement, which you do a lot. Sometimes it’s, you know, getting on people and trying to raise the level, the sense of urgency, and raising my voice and trying to create a different vibration for the whole offense. And that’s ultimately what you’re trying to do.”
The motivation was ultimately in vain. The Bucs trailed the Steelers 10-6 going into halftime. When the final whistle blew, Pittsburgh claimed the 20-18 victory. Brady finished the game with 25-of-40 passes for 243 yards and a single touchdown. He was sacked twice for a loss of 14 yards. The defeat was Tampa Bay’s third loss in four weeks.
The season comes when Tom Brady is enduring rumors of an impending divorce. He and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, are reportedly on the rocks over his decision to un-retired this season. On the Friday before the Steelers game, Tom attended the wedding of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft without Gisele. Both Tom and Gisele have also been spotted without their wedding rings as of late.