The two loudest statements in Monday night’s 41-14 debacle against the Chiefs came without any words being said. The first came when rookie backup Jimmy Garoppolo tossed a touchdown pass with 7:25 left in a blowout loss. Coming off the field, Garoppolo got some pats on the head from teammates and had a nice conversation with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Rob Gronkowski sought out Garoppolo, interrupted his conversation with McDaniels, and gave him congratulations for throwing his first career NFL touchdown.
But not everyone was outwardly happy for the kid.
Tom Brady gave passive high-fives to the other offensive players coming off the field — Gronk, Julian Edelman, the offensive linemen — but stayed clear of Garoppolo. Brady didn’t offer him any congratulations or daps.
When they returned to the bench, McDaniels sat in between them — Brady on the bench, Garoppolo on a water cooler. The two quarterbacks didn’t appear to speak. Brady watched the rest of the game silently with his arms folded, with no teammate coming within 20 feet of him.
The second statement came in the postgame press conference. Coach Bill Belichick was asked if he would “consider evaluating the quarterback position” this week after Brady turned in his fourth bad game in a row, throwing for 159 measly yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the loss that dropped the Patriots to a surprising 2-2.
Belichick stared down the reporter, smirked, and moved on to the next question.