Early in the second quarter Sunday night, the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons were locked up at 0-0 when Tom Brady threw an interception to Robert Alford in the end zone. But instead of the Falcons taking possession on offense, the play was negated by a dumb personal foul penalty on Adrian Clayborne, who took a shot at Brady after he released the ball.
Clayborne launched, helmet first, into Brady’s head/neck area. This is a no-no that every defender knows is a no-no. It’s something they’re being told constantly is a no-no, yet Clayborne couldn’t resist the chance to take a big shot on Mr. Big Shot, Tom Brady himself.
Here's the roughing the passer penalty on Adrian Clayborn that negated a Falcons INT. #ATLvsNE pic.twitter.com/Ctqj1um1SL
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) October 23, 2017
After getting a second lease on life offensively, the Patriots scored the game’s first touchdown two plays later to go up, 7-0.
Touch Pass TD!@brandincooks takes the Brady toss to the end zone! #GoPats #ATLvsNE https://t.co/mJa3cS7tCH
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2017
That’s gonna leave a mark.