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Despite nearly losing a 24-point lead down in Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Rams defense had a solid outing against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in their 30-27 road win on Sunday, January 23, to advance to the NFC title game.
After all, the Rams picked him off and sacked Brady three times — the second time this season they snatched him for that many takedowns behind the line of scrimmage. And one of those sacks came from the newcomer to the Rams’ defense Von Miller.
However, there was one play in particular that became a central focus among Miller and Brady. It was this quarterback hit below that left Brady bleeding. But instead of roughing the passer, Brady was the one who drew the yellow marker:
This drew a vocal Brady, and a response from the official who threw the flag Shawn Hochuli.
Brady Came in ‘Aggressive Manner’
Via Buccaneers beat reporter Greg Auman, Hochuli gave his explanation on why it was Brady, not Miller, who got called.
“He got in my face in an aggressive manner and used abusive language,” Hochuli said per Auman.
But did the Miller smack to the chin warrant a personal foul?
“As for the hit, we did not think that it rose to the level of roughing the passer,” Hochuli explained.
While Brady was penalized for the first time in his career for unsportsmanlike conduct, he admits that he’s received some passes by refs in the past.
Speaking on his January 18 episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast alongside Jim Gray, he admitted that refs have allowed him to get by with things that would be considered violations.
“I do know that [the officials] probably let me get away with a lot of unsportsmanlike conducts, talking smack to the other team and talking smack to the refs when I don’t think I get the right call,” Brady told host Jim Gray. “I’m kind of a pain in their a**, if you don’t already know that.”
Miller on Brady
Miller has added two sacks to his postseason total while with the Rams. Per Pro Football Reference, the 33-year-old has 8.5 career playoff sacks.
But his latest playoff win left him in a whirlwind of emotions.
“I’m still trying to process everything,” Miller told reporters. “That was a crazy game.”
He also knew that when the Rams had the commanding lead, Brady was not going to go down easily.
“I knew that it was going to come down to the end,” Miller said. “All the times I’ve played against Tom Brady, it always comes down to the end. No lead that we had was safe but I’m so proud of these guys.”
Miller wasn’t asked about the penalty or hit. However, he was asked if he believes this was the last time the NFL will see Brady, as there have been rumblings about his future.
“Nah, it ain’t going to be the end of Tom Brady,” Miller said smiling. “Got a lot of respect for Tom Brady. I’ve always respected him. I don’t think this is going to be the end for him. He’s going to dust himself off and be ready to go.”
