🔥 Questioning The Bucs Will Only Fuel Tom Brady’s Fire

In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Tom Brady knows what awaits in Week 4, but first, he wants to figure out what went wrong in Week 3 ... we take a look at what separates the contenders from the pretenders in the NFL ... and we are treated to a raw, emotional interview from Rory McIlroy.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The opportunity was right there for Tom Brady, and he didn’t even entertain the thought of taking it, not for a moment.

As he stood in his postgame news conference, a six-hour flight ahead of him and those silly notions of a 20-0 season evaporated, Brady was offered the chance to turn things forward immediately, away from Tampa Bay's comprehensive defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and ahead to the game everyone has waited for since even before the schedule was released.

What did he think, Brady was asked, about next weekend’s visit to the New England Patriots — that deliciously anticipated return to the place where he held court for two decades and crafted six Super Bowl rings?

If he’d bitten, it would have shifted the narrative. One little anecdote about life as a Patriot — one snippet of a story about Bill Belichick, a single punchy quote about how he and Rob Gronkowski couldn’t wait — and it would have been a contender for a headline-topper, even on a day of impossible field goals and overtime dramatics and upset results.

But he didn’t bite.

Brady has been around the National Football League long enough to know how the media game works and how a couple of choice words could have deflected what happened at SoFi Stadium, where the Rams were far too composed, and the Tampa Bay Bucs far too toothless on both sides of the ball, to make any other result feasible.

Instead, he chose to take it on the chin, knowing what criticisms await during the week and what doubts will be raised, despite the fact this was the team’s first defeat since Nov. 29 of last year.

"It’s a tough loss," Brady said, when quizzed about New England but answering about L.A. "So I’ll just get through the plane trip and evaluate what we need to do. I want to win every time we take the field."

It was the most "non" of non-answers that you could possibly get, and Brady cut and ran from the podium moments later. It was the first blip Tampa Bay has had for a good while, all through an otherwise perfect run that picked up steam in the final quarter of last year’s regular season and catapulted all the way through the playoffs.

He wanted it to sting, so it seemed, if only to serve as a reminder that things don’t always go your way.

Very little went right for the visitors in Los Angeles. Brady looks younger when he smiles, and there wasn’t much to smile about Sunday, not with the Rams dominant and decisive and completely worthy as 34-24 winners.

Even when he’s miserable, he still doesn’t look 44, just a little closer to it. But there was a clear intention to digest this rare defeat rather than simply skip over it.

The Tampa Bay defense suddenly doesn’t seem quite so mighty and has issues at corner, where they got easily dissected by Matthew Stafford, who looks utterly settled just three weeks into his new job. Online, Bucs fans quickly clamored for the team to sign Richard Sherman to bolster the defensive stock.

Brady threw for 432 yards on 41-for-55 passing, but was often harried and frustrated by a Rams defense marshaled by Aaron Donald. There were some untimely drops, Gronkowski got crushed by a hellacious third-quarter tackle and had his ribs X-rayed, and running back Giovani Bernard first accidentally clattered into the knees of coach Bruce Arians, then had the wind knocked out of him on a consolation touchdown run.

"The throwing needs to be better, the all-around offense, the red area, better on third down," Brady added. "We definitely had some opportunities to help the team win, but we didn’t get it done."

Just because Brady didn’t feel minded to talk about next week, that won’t stop everyone else from doing so. The Patriots also had a disappointing afternoon, knocked askew by the New Orleans Saints, who look unexpectedly good at times and far from it at others.

The matchup doesn’t, in all honesty, lose the ability to make us salivate because the Patriots are 1-2 and both teams are coming off a loss. Just seeing the interactions, if any, between Brady and Belichick, will be intriguing enough, plus the are-we-really-seeing-this factor of witnessing Brady at Foxborough, trying to actively beat New England in another team’s colors.

Belichick wasn’t happy after his team got crushed 28-13 and if ever a reminder was needed that Mac Jones isn’t Brady, it came with a three-interception performance that saw the offense break down completely.

There will be some added spice as well, with Alex Guerrero — Brady’s personal advisor and TB12 mentor — critical of Belichick’s behavior in the final years of the most successful coach-player partnership in NFL history.

There’s going to be some fire next week, and Brady knows it only too well. It will be emotional, extraordinary and mouth-watering, and he’ll embrace it to the max.

But not just yet. Brady is aware how his own mind works and that he's never more dangerous than when his pride has been wounded and his team is being questioned.

Which is why he’ll stew on this one a little while longer, even when he was gifted the means to put it behind him.

Here’s what others have said ...

Bucky Brooks, FOX Sports: “A tough loss on the road might help Bruce Arians’ squad refocus and re-commit to playing solid football on both sides of the ball.”

Colin Cowherd, The Herd: “Tom Brady doesn't need a lot of home runs. He really doesn't even need doubles. It's protection mode for TB12 and his legacy.”

Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed: “If you want to stand toe-to-toe with a gunslinger, you've got to look him in his eye and perform just as well as he did, and Stafford did that. Matthew Stafford was the difference in this ball game.”

The true contenders emerge after a Week 3 that featured dominant performances by the Rams and Bills, FOX Sports NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks writes.
Kevin Harvick’s anger with Chase Elliott could be real, or he could simply be looking for a mental edge, FOX Sports NASCAR Writer Bob Pockrass writes.
FOX Sports NFL Analyst Geoff Schwartz outlines where NFL teams land on his panic meter after a wild Week 3, highlighted by another Chiefs loss.

Rory McIlroy is one of the best golfers in the world, but the Ryder Cup, simply put, wasn’t his best tournament. McIllroy was hoping to lead the European Team to victory, but he struggled throughout the weekend as Team USA reclaimed the Ryder Cup with a 19-9 victory. Despite McIlroy’s struggles, he delivered an extremely raw and emotional interview where he teared up explaining why this event means so much to him as a player. Give the interview a listen. It’s pretty easy to see why so many people root for Rory!

WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET)
Big E will defend his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley on Monday Night Raw.

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Dallas to take on Dak Prescott and the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Odds provided by FOX Bet
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys: OVER 52.5

How do you take one of the NFL's most storied rivalries and turn up the intensity? Play it in prime time, of course.

But if you want to take a Monday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys up another notch, you might want to consider placing a wager or two. And for that, we're here to help.

Pick via FOX Sports Betting Analyst Sam Panayotovich:

"There were 827 yards of offense in the Chargers-Cowboys game, but some costly interceptions by Justin Herbert – including one in the end zone – kept points off the board. I am convinced that the final score was an anomaly.

"We saw the Eagles-49ers matchup play out similarly. Philadelphia had a first-quarter touchdown called back because receiver Jalen Reagor stepped out of bounds before making the catch. If that wasn't enough, Jake Elliott proceeded to kick his field goal attempt into a wall of San Francisco special teamers. The game turned into a slow crawl from there.

"I expect Dallas or Philadelphia to set the pace very early with a touchdown to open things up. Both teams have too much speed and play with too much pace to play anything other than the ‘Over.’"

“Nothing surprises me in the NFL anymore.” — Tom Brady

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🗣️ Kevin Harvick Is Trying To Get Into Chase Elliott’s Head

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LAS VEGAS – The common theme after drivers get into drama with each other is to try to downplay it and move on.

Kevin Harvick opted for the opposite Sunday, and that wasn’t much of a surprise.

The 45-year-old Harvick, from Bakersfield, Calif., doesn’t like to back down. And if he sees a chance to maybe get into an opponent’s head, he’ll do it.

So what was his motive Sunday as he reiterated his frustrations with Chase Elliott? It was probably more the not liking to back down rather than trying to get into an opponent’s head.

After all, Harvick said: "That’s probably the maddest I’ve ever been."

To refresh: In the Sept. 18 race at Bristol, Elliott felt that Harvick banged doors with him on purpose, flatting his left-side tire. Elliott, a few laps down on fresh tires, drove by Harvick and then slowed enough to run Harvick’s preferred line just ahead of him, stalling out Harvick and allowing Elliott teammate Kyle Larson to blow by him for the win.

A week later, Harvick wasn’t as emotional as he was that night following his postrace confrontation with Elliott, but he didn’t mince words.

"It was like I was talking to Keelan," said Harvick, referring to his 9-year-old son. "It’s identical, it’s 100 percent exact same scenario – they get hung up on one thing and you can’t speak to them about the broader picture of how the whole thing works.

"It was like speaking to a 9-year-old, so I have good experience with that. That’s a daily process. Day in, day out process."

Harvick has often said he needs to find things to motivate himself, so maybe that is all this is. But that is a pretty deep dig at someone to just motivate yourself.

Then again, Harvick is known for trying to play mind games with other drivers, as he once did with Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin isn’t so sure that Harvick is playing mind games in this situation.

"Harvick's kind of mind games was more so earlier in his career," Hamlin said. "I think he was just generally pissed off last week and this week. I just think he probably legitimately had a gripe.

"I can't condone one way or another. He had a gripe and he voiced it."

Elliott, who won the 2020 Cup title, would be hard to rattle. He didn’t seem fazed by what Harvick said about him.

"I don’t really have much to say to be real honest," Elliott said. "Everybody’s got their opinion. ... I care less about this confrontation than I have any other one in the past.

"I don’t know if that’s just time being around more, you just are focused on the right things a little more."

For Harvick, it’s been a frustrating season as he appears to make the most out of what his car gives him, but he hasn’t had the speed he would like, going winless following a nine-win 2020. He finished a respectable ninth with a damaged (and potentially Top-5) car on Sunday at Las Vegas, where they struggled in March.

He is still seven points behind the cutoff with two races remaining in the Round of 12 and will be without crew chief Rodney Childers next week at Talladega after having two loose lug nuts following the Vegas race.

Childers has worked with Harvick for eight seasons, and he has no concerns about Harvick getting into a little drama.

"Anything like that motivates him," Childers said. "We all know that from his past. He always has a lot of motivation on his own. But that adds more fire to that motivation for sure."

The team has not addressed it.

"He didn’t come to the shop, we didn’t have a meeting about it, we didn’t do nothing," Childers said. "What happened he has kind of handled on his own and the race team is just worried about our jobs and bringing the best cars we can."

If the team wants to know about it, they can read about it on social media, where Harvick’s comments lit up the chat rooms.

"You can’t say I want to race hard for eighth and then not want to be raced hard for eighth," Harvick said about Elliott. "And you can’t lay on somebody’s door and expect to not have the car come up the race track.

"You chose to put your car in that position. And those choices happen with that particular car a lot."

Picking a fight with the sport’s most popular driver is nothing new for Harvick if he thinks it can help him or if he wants his views public.

"I’d rather be wiped out than have some bull---- like that happen," Harvick said. "It was a 9-year-old temper tantrum. ... It can’t go both ways. That’s just not how this deal works.

"I don’t care if you’re the most popular driver or not. You can’t race everybody, side-drafting, bouncing off their doors and then slam into them. That stuff all comes full circle in this deal and has a funny way of teaching you."

Those comments make one think that somehow, someway Harvick will get the message across to Elliott. It might not even be this year as long as Harvick still has a chance to win the Cup title.

Elliott said he can’t spend time worrying about it. And that’s true. But Harvick won’t mind trying to see if he can make Elliott worry about it. And he doesn’t want NASCAR to step in.

"I’m fine with however this whole outcome is as long as it is officiated the same way when the shoe is on the other foot. ... As long as it’s the same for everybody, those are the rules of engagement," Harvick said.

"I just hope the rules don’t change."

Thinking Out Loud

Hendrick Motorsports will take a lot of grief about the decision not to pit when the caution came out early in stage 2 at Las Vegas. And it should – it turned out to be the wrong decision.

But it just tells you how races can depend on crazy circumstances. A chase vehicle – the vehicle that "chases" the safety vehicles to an accident scene to shield that vehicle and workers from the cars – broke down and had to be towed off the track. That created extra laps of caution, helping those who pitted either stretch it on fuel or give them an opportunity to top off on fuel.

With the solid decisions crew chief Cliff Daniels has made this year for Larson, one bad decision shouldn’t outweigh the success this year. It cost them Sunday, but it isn’t worth getting too worried about.

Picture This

Brandi Patanjo poses with her family in front of a Kevin Harvick showcar at Daytona in July. It was the family’s first NASCAR race.

Do you have a great photo from the race track? If so, send it our way. Please keep it clean (we don’t have a radioactive bleep button for the newsletter!) You can submit to: nascarnewsletter@gmail.com. By submitting, you give us the right to publish the photo/video in this newsletter. We will be featuring our favorite photos every Monday.

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They Said It

"I feel so good. I can’t tell you how good these next two weeks are going to be." – Hamlin after his Vegas victory.

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