Tom Brady Explains Apparent 4th-Down Mishap Late in Bucs' Loss vs. Bears

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' last-ditch effort to beat the Chicago Bears on Thursday ended after quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Cameron Brate could not connect on 4th-and-6 from the Tampa 41-yard line with 33 seconds remaining, leading to a 20-19 defeat.

After the incomplete pass, Fox cameras apparently caught Brady signaling that he believed that fourth down was upcoming. However, the Bucs' night was over as the incomplete pass led to a turnover on downs:

Afterward, Brady explained the end-of-game situation to reporters, per Grace Remington of CBS Tampa:

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians told reporters, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, that Brady knew fourth down had just passed.

Tampa Bay got the ball on its own 25-yard line with 1:13 left. Brady found Mike Evans for 12 yards for a 1st-and-10 at the Tampa 37.

An incomplete pass to Evans was followed by a four-yard toss to running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, bringing up 3rd-and-6. Brady tried to hit Rob Gronkowski on third down but was unsuccessful, leading to the Brate play.

Regardless of whether or not Brady knew or didn't, the Bucs blew a 13-0 lead en route to losing 20-19 to Chicago, who is now 4-1. The Bucs fell to 3-2.

Brady withstood Bears pressure all night en route to completing 25-of-41 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked three times.

Tampa Bay will now have a bye week before hosting the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4:25 p.m. ET.