Tom Brady reacts to final seconds of the Patriots at Raiders game

The list of notable voices that have discussed the final play of the Patriots’ game against the Raiders last Sunday continues to grow as the days go on. The typical media reactions have filtered throughout the week ranging from analysts and reporters to former NFL players. All have shared nearly identical takes, most of which contain harsh criticism of the players involved in the now infamous play.

But Tom Brady’s reaction was not in line with what most expected from the former Patriots quarterback.

On the most recent episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady expressed his initial reaction to seeing the end of the game, noting the way the Patriots lost reminded him of a similar catastrophic game-ending play from his time in New England.

"“That was crazy, and I was part of the one in Miami in 2017 when we lost at Miami on the Miami Miracle. It was just so improbable for that to happen. I saw that highlight as I was driving home from the game yesterday. It’s just sports, man. You never know. You never know. Anything can happen… It’s just a crazy game. I saw Rhamondre (Stevenson) got the ball, and it was a great run. I’m sure the Raiders at that point were like, ‘tackle him, tackle him.’ Then they pitched it to Jakobi, and Jakobi’s trying to make it happen.Then next thing you know, Jakobi got it, and in that moment, you might lose your train of thought because you lose what’s really going on in that situation. You think, ‘oh, someone tossed me the ball, I have to make a play.’ Sometimes that’s the worst thing when you say, ‘I’ve got to make a play. I’ve got to make a play.’ The play was obviously ‘go to overtime.’ That’s sports. It goes from ‘oh my god, tackle that guy’ to ‘oh my god, we got the ball,’ and then the Patriots are saying ‘tackle that guy,’ and they couldn’t get him on the ground.”"

Out of everything that has been said, Brady’s assessment of what likely occurred is the most sensible and understanding judgment heard all week. Although uncommon, football is an unpredictable sport. There’s a reason for the saying, “any given Sunday,” because no matter the teams’ records, the history they’ve had, or the accomplishments they’ve made, truly anything can happen between any two teams on any Sunday during the NFL season.

Because of his long relationship with Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization, Brady shared how he assumed his former coach would discuss the game with the team in meetings this week.

"“They’re all learning lessons, but at the same time, that’s probably never going to happen again. Just like that Miami Miracle – we changed some strategy after that play. I think there’s another word for ‘just kneel on the ball and go into overtime,’ but it wasn’t good. Look, there’s a lot of reasons why you win or lose. I know everyone always points to one play and that particular play because it was so incredible. They’re probably going to show it forever. But, there were probably other plays in the game, which knowing coach Belichick, he’s probably like, ‘Guys, these are the 20 other things we could’ve done to win the game, too,’ which is part of his great coaching.”"

As the Patriots prepare for another big matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, putting this game behind them will be essential. The Miami Miracle came during a season that ended with the Patriots winning Super Bowl LIII, a season that could’ve been dramatically different had the team allowed the loss to the Dolphins to overtake their end goal.

Although New England is in a different situation than they were in 2018, they still control their destiny to make the postseason this year. Their chances may be slim, but moving on from a brutal loss is a better lesson now than later.