Bruce Arians did his best to cover for Tom Brady after the veteran quarterback’s big mistake at the end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 20-19 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
Brady made a huge mental mistake and forgot what down it was on the Bucs’ final offensive play of the game. He very clearly did not seem to realize the Bucs were on their fourth down when he threw deep and incomplete for Cameron Brate.
Arians, who is in his second season as the Bucs’ head coach, tried to cover for Brady after the game.
Tom Brady did not admit to not knowing what down it was. Bruce Arians said he knew, as he stared down at the ground. pic.twitter.com/tyyeyNs98x
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) October 9, 2020
“Yeah, he knew. He knew,” Arians said when asked if Brady knew what down it was for the play in question.
Arians was looking down when he said it, which is a classic behavior when someone is lying.
Brady was also asked about the play during his postgame news conference. He didn’t really give a straight answer. Another reporter was instructed to ask a question while Brady was trailing off trying to explain things.
“Yeah, we just. You’re up against the clock and you’re up against the uh … I knew we had to gain a chunk, so I should have been thinking more first down instead of chunk,” Brady said.
Both men are doing their best to try covering up things, but everyone saw what we saw. Anything coming out of their mouths at this point is an excuse.
Making a mental mistake like that is especially bad for Brady when he was the one yelling to keep his teammates in check.
