Brady called his first Patriots broadcast as New England fell 45-27 to the Packers, and Boston radio host Mike Felger says he was too afraid to criticize his old team.
Tom Brady worked his first New England Patriots game for Fox Sports last weekend, a broadcast the network hyped all week, timed near the 10th anniversary of the Patriots' Super Bowl LI comeback over the Falcons. The game itself was no comeback story: New England lost 45-27 to the Green Bay Packers, with Drake Maye throwing three interceptions and Rhamondre Stevenson adding a fumble, four turnovers total from a team whose Hall of Fame former quarterback built his legacy on protecting the ball.
Brady's call mostly went unnoticed nationally, but not in Boston. The Sports Hub's Mike Felger ripped Brady for being "afraid" to criticize the Patriots during the broadcast, a charge that echoes earlier skepticism about how Brady would handle covering his old team after he said he had "no dog in the fight" when New England made the playoffs last season.
The loss also put the Patriots' season in context. Nine games in, they sit as the third and final AFC Wild Card team, evidence of how far the roster still has to go even with Brady watching closely from the booth and, apparently, biting his tongue.