Falcons lineman 'unnecessarily' threw Tom Brady to ground, ref says

TAMPA, Fla. — Referee Jerome Boger said Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett «unnecessarily» threw Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady to the ground as part of his explanation for the roughing the passer call on a key third down late in the Buccaneers' win Sunday.

The Falcons were down by six with 3 minutes, 3 seconds to play when they appeared to stop the Buccaneers at midfield on Jarrett's third-down sack of Brady, but Boger threw a flag, allowing the drive to continue and for Tampa Bay to run out the clock in their 21-15 win.

Jarrett had wrapped Brady up and then rolled to the ground, bringing the quarterback along with him.

«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 in a postgame pool report. «That is what I was making my decision based on.»

Boger said, «No, not necessarily,» when asked if he was instructed to watch for takedowns of quarterbacks like Jarrett's on Brady following the injury to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earlier this season.

Brady shrugged when he was asked about the call, saying, «I don't throw flags,» while Jarrett declined to speak with reporters after the game, a rarity for one of the Falcons' longest-tenured players.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith said he didn't talk with the officials following the call but was caught by television cameras on the sideline with an animated reaction. Asked if he thought it was roughing the passer, Smith sidestepped the question.

«I'm not going to get into that,» Smith said. «I haven't seen the film, and I got to worry about how to coach that.»

Tampa Bay right tackle Tristan Wirfs joked about Brady's age — he's 45 — but said, «I think