Did Tom Brady Flop in Thursday Night Game vs. Jets?

Late in the first half of Thursday night's game between the Patriots and Jets, New England had a prime opportunity to extend its 14-12 lead by a touchdown before a penalty halted its drive.

If quarterback Tom Brady had things go his way, the touchdown opportunity might have held for the home-team Pats.

With under 20 seconds remaining in the half, New England faced 2nd-and-10 from the Jets' 12-yard line when Brady was forced to throw an off-balance pass that fell incomplete. A third down from that position wouldn't occur, thanks to the ensuing actions. 

Brady was hurried on the throw by linebacker Antwan Barnes, who gave the 37-year-old signal-caller a shove after the pass was away. New England guard Jordan Devey stepped in for his quarterback and pushed Barnes, which drew a personal foul penalty that set the Pats back at the New York 27-yard line.

Barnes could have been flagged for unnecessary roughness as well, but as is often the case in the NFL, the second man got caught.  

There was, however, a later "hit" on Brady in the scrum that followed, this time by defensive tackle Leger Douzable. If flagged, there would have been offsetting penalties, giving New England its third-down opportunity from the 17.

In reality, Douzable mildly brushed Brady, who tried to sell it as a vicious hit in one of the worst displays of flopping we have seen this year.

Unlike the NBA, the NFL does not penalize players for intentional flopping. NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino reiterated this fact last season to The Associated Press' Eddie Pells (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), saying, "We officiate, does the contact violate a rule? But not if a player is trying to buy a foul. We know basketball has a foul for flopping. We don’t."

The 5-2 Patriots won 27-25 over the 1-6 Jets. Brady went 20-of-37 for 261 yards and three touchdowns, while his counterpart, Geno Smith, went 20-of-34 for 226 yards and one score. Smith added 37 yards on seven rushes.