Skip to main content
SI

Bucs’ Tom Brady Fails to Draw Penalty Flag Despite Elaborate Flop

The Tampa Bay quarterback shook off Derrick Brown’s love tap and steered his team to the NFC South title.
Patrick Andres|
Bucs’ Tom Brady Fails to Draw Penalty Flag Despite Elaborate Flop
Bucs’ Tom Brady Fails to Draw Penalty Flag Despite Elaborate Flop

In this story:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When eight losses are good enough to win a division title, a little bit of honor might go out the window

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady provided a perfect example of that during Tampa Bay’s 30-24 win over the visiting Panthers on Sunday—a victory that gave the Bucs back-to-back division titles for the first time.

Brady, dropping back to pass late in the third quarter, was given a gentle shove by Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown. The legendary quarterback theatrically went limp, barrel-rolling and slapping the ground in an apparent attempt to draw a roughing the passer call.

To Brady’s dismay, no flag was thrown on the play, and Carolina added insult to injury by blocking Tampa Bay kicker Ryan Succop’s ensuing field goal attempt.

Somehow shaking off Brown’s love tap, Brady completed 34 of 45 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns in a vintage performance. All three touchdowns went to wide receiver Mike Evans as the Bucs, at 8-8, secured the NFC South title and a home playoff game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

Home/NFL