Did Tom Brady’s big mouth cost himself a penalty from Shawn Hochuli?

Tom Brady received a rare flag for unsportsmanlike conduct during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, and it is fair to wonder if some comments he made earlier in the week contributed to the penalty.

Brady was furious over what he felt was an illegal shot to the helmet from Von Miller that was not called in the second quarter. The hit left Brady with a bloody lip, which you can see here. He immediately turned to referee Shawn Hochuli and began shouting in his face over the no-call. Hochuli wasn’t having it and threw a flag.

Apparently even Tom Brady can't say "are you f***ing kidding me" to a referee pic.twitter.com/9X7Ynpmq40

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 23, 2022

Many were surprised to see Brady penalized. That was the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of his career. Brady often gets away with screaming at officials and complaining. In fact, the seven-time Super Bowl champion admitted as much during his podcast earlier in the week.

Brady said this week that he feels he gets preferential treatment when it comes to trash talk and complaining to officials. Perhaps Hochuli took note and wanted to prove a point. It probably was not smart of Brady to come out and admit that.