Getty Tom Brady just provided some extra motivation for the Chicago Bears.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady seems quite amused by Aaron Rodgers’ trolling of Chicago Bears fans.
Just days after the Green Bay Packers quarterback drew the ire of Bears fans by emphatically yelling that he “still owns” them, Brady piled on the trolling in advance of his team’s own matchup against the Bears in Week 7.
Brady had the following to say during his appearance on the “Let’s Go” podcast on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, October 20.
“I wanted to say congrats to Aaron Rodgers,” Brady said. “Obviously I know he’s a great quarterback, but I guess he’s now a shareholder of the Bears … I saw a clip of him really enthusiastically telling the crowd how happy he is to own Soldier Field. And that’s really great stuff. He owns the Bucks now. Part owner of Soldier Field. So he’s got a great career beyond football.”
It’s worth mentioning that Brady himself has a superior record against the Bears. While Brady clearly hasn’t matched up against Chicago as many times as Rodgers has considering he’s a member of the NFC North, he is 5-1 against them. That one loss occurred last season during a 20-19 defeat in Week 5.
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Mike Evans on Bears Loss: ‘We Beat Ourselves’
That aforementioned game spawned a viral moment in which Brady held up four fingers following an incomplete pass at the end of the game. That would be because the veteran quarterback thought fourth down was coming up — not during the incomplete pass thrown.
It was one of the more humbling defeats Tampa Bay suffered during the 2020 season before they righted the ship by going on an eight-game winning streak to end the season.
Receiver Mike Evans remembers the game well and he remembers the reason for why the Buccaneers lost the game — penalties.
Via Joey Knight of The Tampa Bay Times:
“It was a Thursday game in Chicago, no fans, which kinda sucked. … I remember we had a lot of penalties (11 for 109 yards) and we beat ourselves for sure that game,” said Evans.
Although it was only a year ago, both teams were considered evenly-matched. Chicago entered with a 3-1 record and the Buccaneers at a similar mark. Fast forward a year later and that’s no longer the case — Tampa Bay will be favored by 12.5 points on Sunday, according to Fan Duel Sportsbook’s betting odds.
Buccaneers Still Banged-up With Injuries
While the Buccaneers may clearly be favored against a rebuilding Bears squad led by rookie quarterback Justin Fields, they may have to play once again without several of their key stars.
Absent from Wednesday’s practice were tight end Rob Gronkowski (ribs), linebackers Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder/hand) and Lavonte David (ankle), along with cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring).
While the Sherman absence was of no surprise, tight end O.J. Howard’s absence was. The Buccaneers’ starting tight end was sidelined due to an ankle injury during Wednesday’s practice session.
Tampa Bay has two more practices on Thursday and Friday before Sunday’s game against the Bears. They’ll want Howard to get back on the field considering there’s only one other tight end on the roster in Cameron Brate.
In better news on the injury front, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was not only back on the practice field in full-pad workouts, he was also fielding punts. The starting free safety has been sidelined with a concussion for the past two weeks and he’ll have to clear the concussion protocol before returning for in-game action.
Considering Tampa Bay’s current situation with injuries, they’ll take any good news that they can get.