Tom Brady described the Bengals defense as “fairly tough” a few days before the Buccaneers hosted Cincinnati. The Bengals took that personally.
What could be perceived as an apparent slight quickly turned into a major talking point for Cincinnati as defenders after the game latched onto the comments after turning Brady over four times in a 34-23 win and erasing an early 17-point deficit.
Once again at the center of the Cincinnati smack talk? Cornerback Eli Apple.
“The future is now, old man,” Apple said, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.
Eli Apple and BJ Hill with a couple messages for Tom Brady. Hill obviously heard the “fairly tough” comment this week. pic.twitter.com/6CGe9FbZ6L
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 19, 2022
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Following right behind Apple was defensive tackle B.J. Hill, who gave a reminder about Brady’s comments.
“Hey, we are fairly tough on defense. Remember that,” Hill said.
In the week leading up to Tampa Bay’s clash with the Bengals, Tom Brady said on his podcast, “Let’s Go!” that the Bengals defense was “fairly tough” after describing the team and quarterback Joe Burrow as “great.”
“We’re on to Cincinnati,” Brady said on his podcast. “Great team. Great, young quarterback. Fairly tough defense. Good skill players. They do a lot of things well. We’re going to have to put everything we’ve got into it.”
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At first, the comments appeared to age fine. The Bengals gave up 17 straight points to start the game and went into halftime trailing 17-3. But Brady turned the ball over on four straight possessions with two fumbles and two interceptions, fueling Cincinnati’s second-half comeback.
Once in the locker room, Apple and the defense weren’t done bringing back the comments. Apple said the defense needed to “get that old man tap dancing” and get him uncomfortable in the pocket. The Bengals corner was asked about Brady’s first-half performance, and Apple didn’t skip a beat.
“He was fairly OK, but not good enough to win,” Apple said, according to WLWT’s Olivia Ray.
The #Bengals locker room thanking Tom Brady for that bulletin board material this week…@EliApple – “He was fairly okay, but not good enough to win.” pic.twitter.com/k34zEBxefL
— Olivia Ray (@OliviaRayTV) December 19, 2022
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Linebacker Germaine Pratt, who had the team’s second interception, also brought up Brady’s comments after the game.
“We are a fairly tough defense. You know, fairly tough,” Pratt said, according to Dehner. “I think we are tough as nails to get four turnovers on four possessions.”
