Tom Brady jokes about roughing the passer call: ‘I don’t throw flags, I throw tablets’

After the Buccaneers win over the Falcons, many fans pointed to a controversial roughing the passer call on defensive tackle Grady Jarrett as the incident that sealed it.

Jarrett seemed to sack Bucs QB Tom Brady on a 3rd and 5, which could have given Atlanta the ball back with time to score and go ahead. Instead, referees threw a flag and called a penalty, giving the Bucs a first down and allowing Brady & Co. to run out the clock and win 21-15.

Speaking on his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast, Brady responded to the incident and those criticizing him after what happened. 

‘It was a long hug. A long, unwelcomed hug from Grady,’ the quarterback said. ‘He was in the backfield all day. As I said after the game, I don’t throw flags.’

‘What I do throw is tablets and I didn’t have one accessible at the time,’ Brady joked – a callback to the many times he’s been seen destroying a tablet on the sidelines in frustration.

Referee Jerome Boger defended his call to reporters and explained why he threw the flag.

Brady received negative attention for the play, to which he replied, ‘I don’t throw the flags’

‘What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,’ Boger said. ‘That is what I was making my decision based upon.’

Brady praised Jarrett’s play, adding, ‘He had a hell of a game, I’ll leave it at that.’

After that call, the Falcons had another 3rd and 5 as a chance to stop the Bucs with a little over two-and-a-half minutes left. However, Brady completed an 18 yard pass to Mike Evans that took the team to the two minute warning, and allowed Tampa Bay to end the game.

Referee Jerome Boger said he believed Jarrett threw Brady to the ground ‘unnecessarily’