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Tom Brady evasive when asked if Buccaneers knew number of downs on final drive

Thursday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears ended in seemingly bizarre fashion when Tom Brady appeared to forget the number of downs on his final drive.

On fourth-and-6, Brady’s pass to tight end Cameron Brate was broken up, effectively ending the game. Brady then seemed to signal to officials that the Buccaneers had another fourth down.

Not something you often see from a player considered one of the greatest in NFL history. Plenty of NFL funs quickly had fun at Brady’s expense, but it wasn’t obvious that he had forgotten the number of downs. Just apparent.

Tom Brady evades question on fourth-down error

When asked after the game if it was clear to the Buccaneers whether it was third or fourth down on the fateful play, Brady essentially answered a different question.

“You're up against the clock,” Brady said. “I knew we had to gain a chunk, so I should have been thinking more first down instead of chunk.”

That’s not a “no,” but it’s also not a “yes.”

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians faced a similar question and was firmer in his answer, denying that Brady had lost track of downs. He did not expand on his answer much.

“Yeah, he knew. He knew,” Arians said.

Overall, not the firmest response from the team on Brady’s possible brain fart. And definitely not enough to stop the laughter at his expense. Brady finished the game 25-of-41 for 253 passing yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

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