Ben Roethlisberger was on hand for the Steelers’ shocking 20-18 win over the Buccaneers in Week 6. The retired Pittsburgh quarterback watched from a suite as his former team was able to mount an excellent defensive effort and get after Tom Brady frequently to pull off the upset.
Roethlisberger was impressed by the Steelers’ defense, but he also came away from the game with plenty of thoughts about Brady’s performance.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Roethlisberger explained that he didn’t see Brady’s usual A-game in Sunday’s contest.
“Tom is the greatest. The Super Bowl rings show it,” Roethlisberger said. “[But] it looked like he didn’t want to be out there. Maybe it was the pressure and he was getting hit and whatever was going on.”
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Indeed, it didn’t seem like Brady was having a good time at all. He was under pressure frequently during the contest — eight times total, per PFF, with two sacks — and he ripped into his offensive line just before the first half ended because of their performance.
Tom Brady had some words for his o-line 😳
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“You are so much better than the way you’re f—ing playing,” Brady appeared to shout at the linemen.
Roethlisberger acknowledged that Brady has “a lot going on off the field,” including rumors about his relationship with Gisele Bundchen. He also mentioned that Brady skipped a Saturday walkthrough after going to Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s wedding in New York on Friday night.
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But Roethlisberger wanted to credit the undermanned Steelers defense, which was missing most of its starting secondary, for keeping Brady in check and causing him to get frustrated.
“When a defense gets after you, sometimes, your anger and your disgust for things happen because the other team is affecting you,” Roethlisberger said. “Not because it’s you. But yeah, it just looked like a different Tom.”
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Whatever the reason for Brady’s struggles, they caused his frustration to boil over as he completed 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and just one touchdown in the contest. And his overall demeanor led Roethlisberger to one conclusion.
“There’s no way he’s enjoying this. No way. … It just didn’t look fun to him.”
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