Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears beat Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the Week 5 edition of “Thursday Night Football,” and the six-time Super Bowl champion caused a bit of a stir when he didn’t shake Foles’ hand at the end of the game, instead running straight to the locker room after the defeat.
This was the second time in recent years that Foles got the better of Brady, the first being when the Eagles stunned the Patriots in Super Bowl 52. It led to speculation that Brady was being a sore loser — especially since he greeted Chargers QB Justin Herbert the week before and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers the week after, both following wins.
Brady finally responded to the criticism — but his answer left a bit to be desired.
“I didn’t even think about that,” Brady said to NBC Sports Boston. “I think Nick Foles is a hell of a player and a Super Bowl champ. I don’t know one reason or another why I wouldn’t do that. Sometimes I run off the field, sometimes I haven’t.
“Sometimes if I have a personal relationship like I have with [Saints quarterback] Drew [Brees] and Justin and Aaron over the years — I don’t know, I don’t think it’s anything in particular other than I have great admiration for Nick and I think he’s a hell of a player. [The Bears] are off to a great start.”
It’s hard to believe that Brady, 43, has more of a “personal relationship” with Herbert than the 31-year-old Foles, as the Chargers’ QB is 22 and in his first NFL season. Brady was visibly upset at several points during the Buccaneers’ loss to the Bears, a game in which Khalil Mack & Co. sacked him three times and made him miserable throughout the game.
Foles took the high road when asked about the postgame moment.
“I’m sure that some day, Tom and I will have a great conversation about it and probably just laugh at it,” he told 670 The Score. “There’s obviously history there from a big game we both played in once, and then Thursday night. It is what it is. I think he’s a tremendous player. Some day, we’ll have a good conversation.”