National Football League

Brady takes blame for sideline blowup

Published Dec. 12, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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Tom Brady played down his sideline screaming match with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien during Sunday's 34-27 victory over the Redskins, the Boston Globe reported Monday.

The star quarterback said he "deserved" to be shouted at for throwing a potentially costly fourth-quarter pick.

Brady threw the rare interception on third and goal from the Redskins' 4-yard line with little more than 6:30 to play to offer the Redskins a shot at taking the game into overtime.

Amid the tension, Brady told intended target Tiquan Underwood back on the bench that he should take some blame for the mistake, causing O'Brien to step in and stand up for the receiver.

But Brady answered him back, sparking an angry exchange as O'Brien ripped off his headset before coach Bill Belichick, receivers coach Chad O'Shea and backup quarterback Brian Hoyer broke the warring pair apart.

While disputes between players and coaches after failed plays are hardly rare, the view of Brady trading verbal shots with staff was a surprise to those watching at FedEx Field and at home.

He and O'Brien soon were seen hugging it out after apparently reconciling their differences.

And after holding out for the win, Brady was willing to take the blame for the dust-up.

"I threw a pretty bad interception so he wasn't happy with that," Brady said. "It was probably a long line of coaches and players that were pretty (angry) at me after that, but Billy got to me first so he let me have it. I deserved it."

Belichick said he had no concerns for his quarterback's out-of-character outburst.

"There are a lot of things going on during a game," Belichick said. "I think this is a real competitive game and we've got a lot of competitive players on this team. I'm glad we have them."