Tom Brady ‘unnecessarily’ thrown by Grady Jarrett, per NFL ref

Were the Falcons robbed of a potentially historic comeback in broad daylight?

With Atlanta trying to mount a 21-point, fourth-quarter rally on the road against the Buccaneers, defensive lineman Grady Jarrett was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty on a third-down sack of Tom Brady with 3:03 remaining. At the time of the penalty, Atlanta had trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to one score and would’ve had the chance to take the lead with another possession.

When pressed about the penalty after the game, referee Jerome Boger said that Jarrett “unnecessarily” threw Brady to the ground.

“What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,” Boger said, according to the pool report. “That is what I was making my decision based upon.”

When asked about whether the head injury suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 4 influenced the penalty on Jarrett, Boger said “no, not necessarily.”

Atlanta never regained possession after the penalty, as the Buccaneers ran out the clock for a 21-15 victory. The Falcons fell to 2-3, while the Buccaneers improved to 3-2, putting them in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. 

Jarrett finished the game with three tackles, two QB hits and one sack wiped out by penalty. Brady completed 35 of 52 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. With the win, the seven-time Super Bowl champ avoided his first three-game losing streak in 20 years.