Getty Image / Julio Aguilar
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hung on to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday 21-15 with all 15 of the Falcons’ points coming in the 4th quarter. A moment in the 4th quarter appeared to steal all of the headlines when Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third down and was called for a penalty.
It was one of the softest Roughing The Passer calls I’ve ever seen. I was actually in the stands sitting on the 40-yard line and it seemed like a clear makeup call. The refs missed blatant defensive pass interference on 2nd down prior to Brady getting sacked.
It seemed like the refs were making up for that but the NFL world ran with ‘softest call ever, only Tom Brady gets those calls!’ And that narrative is simply not the truth. It’s easy to disprove the ‘league protects Tom Brady’ with facts, as Bucs beat reporter Greg Auman has been doing all morning.
Stats Debunk ‘Tom Brady Gets All The Calls’ Theory
If Brady was getting all the calls and being protected by the league then surely there would be a paper trail, right? Nope. Because it’s not the case:
The roughing-the-passer call against Grady Jarrett on Sunday was the first such call drawn by Tom Brady this year. He drew one, total, in all of 2021. Since he came to Tampa in 2020, he ranks 16th among all QBs in RTP penalties. He has six.
Ryan 17
Allen 16
Tannehill 15
Goff 13— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 10, 2022
Cousins 12
Wentz 12
Stafford 11
Mahomes 10
Mayfield 9
Roethlisberger 8
Wilson 7
Carr 7
Rodgers 7
Bridgewater 7(@NFLPenaltiesCom data)
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 10, 2022
If Tom Brady was getting all the calls then surely he would’ve drawn more than ONE ‘roughing the passer’ penalty in the entire 2021 season. So that doesn’t add up.
The Falcons actually lead the league in net penalty yards, so ‘Bucs favoritism’ wouldn’t make any sense here:
One more note on penalties: Falcons lead the league in net penalty yards at +134. They've drawn 3rd-most penalty yards from opponents in the league at 303 in five games. So any argument that they don't inherently get flags is unfounded. They're among the best at the league at it.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 10, 2022
Then there was this play where blatant holding wasn’t called and led to a Falcons touchdown:
Missed calls all over Bucs-Falcons on Sunday. Here's Falcons' first touchdown, and a pretty clear hold by Falcons TE Parker Hesse on Antoine Winfield to spring Avery Williams for an 8-yard score. They miss a lot. pic.twitter.com/ySfqMYvqH6
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 10, 2022
The Falcons’ defensive coordinator was apparently so angry over the Roughing The Passer call that he flipped a water cooler while screaming about Brady:
Grady Jarrett flipped a water cooler in disgust after the game, and then there’s this from Falcons DC Dean Pees: https://t.co/Ot6H7gFroc pic.twitter.com/AhSmPg2mW9
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 10, 2022
The Buccaneers’ staff handled it a little differently:
Todd Bowles, asked if he thinks other QBs would get the call as Brady got on the final drive today: "They are starting to crack down on some of the things, slinging backs. I don't know. Right now, the way they are calling (it), I think a lot of people would've gotten that call."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 9, 2022
For his part, Tom Brady appeared to smirk a little when asked about the controversial Roughing The Passer penalty.