NFL should review Tom Brady’s dirty tackle attempt on Cowboys’ Malik Hooker

Entering Monday night, Tom Brady boasted a 7-0 career record against the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the fact Brady’s Buccaneers were an average team (at best) all season, the media used that record and Brady’s track record in the playoffs as bullet points to justify predicting a Tampa Bay upset.

When the dust settled Monday night, the Cowboys humiliated Brady and handed the consensus greatest QB of all time one of his worst career playoff losses. He threw an uncharacteristic end zone interception, completed 53% of his passes and finished with a QBR (24.1) just less than half his current age.

Brady’s foremost haters — and there are a lot of them — are hoping Monday was the last they’ve seen of him in the NFL, while football diehards would like to see him take his talents elsewhere and potentially retire with an eighth ring.

The coming weeks and months will be full of speculation. For now, though, Brady deserves all the criticism coming his way for that display.

It appears Brady let his frustration get the best of him in the second half after Malik Hooker recovered a Chris Godwin fumble. It was ultimately ruled that Godwin was down by contact before the ball came out, but Brady made a dirty tackle attempt on Hooker’s return and is lucky he didn’t injury the defender.

Either way, the NFL needs to review this play.

NFL must review Tom Brady’s reckless tackle attempt on Cowboys safety Malik Hooker.

You have to be joking, right? Much like his successor in New England (Mac Jones), Brady has been subject to the occasional dirty play in his career. Most of them result after turnovers when he squares up a tackle on a ball-carrier or blocker. That’s exactly what happened here, and he’s lucky Hooker emerged unscathed.

That’s not an exaggeration. The media will spin it that Brady tried “tripping” Hooker, and maybe that was the case, but there’s no justifying a slide-tackle from behind. You seldom see it on the soccer field, let alone the gridiron.

Could you imagine if Brady connected with Hooker’s ankle, or worse, his Achilles? You could be talking about Hooker missing the rest of the playoffs and potentially the start of next season depending on the contact and fall. Who’s to say Brady would’ve been able to curl his foot in real time to execute a “trip”?

Watch the replay again, folks. There’s just no place for that in the NFL, let alone a playoff game. Brady got lucky this time, but cameras caught him in the act, and the league should absolutely review it for a potential fine.

A suspension is sadly wishful thinking given Brady has gotten the benefit of the doubt from officials his entire career.

What a dirty play by TB12. Some way to end his Bucs career.

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