Tom Brady and Tyrann Mathieu had a heated back-and-forth during Super Bowl LV, where Brady led the Buccaneers to his seventh title. The two jawed at each other multiple times, starting after Mathieu intercepted a pass that got called back for defensive holding. Mathieu celebrated, but Brady pointed out the flag and made it clear the drive wasn’t over. On the next key play, Brady went deep to Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown, and Mathieu claimed it was offensive pass interference. He didn’t get the call, and it only escalated from there.
Brady began targeting Mathieu directly. He pointed at him, said something off-mic, then drove the offense right at him. After drawing a pass interference call, he hit Antonio Brown for another touchdown. Instead of celebrating with teammates, Brady went straight to Mathieu, talking in his face. The two exchanged more words before Mathieu finally got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. While Mathieu exploded on the sideline, Brady sat on the bench, stone-faced.
After the game, Brady reportedly texted Mathieu to apologize, calling him a great leader and saying it was all in the heat of the moment. It didn’t change the outcome. Brady dominated the matchup, both on the scoreboard and in their personal duel.