The Jacksonville Jaguars came just a win short of making their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, narrowly falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. After the final whistle blew, Blake Bortles and Tom Brady embraced at midfield. What we didn't know at the time is that Bortles was seeking a little revenge on the legendary QB.
During a recent interview with the Barstool Sports' “Pardon My Take” podcast, the Jaguars quarterback revealed that he attempted to give Brady a firm handshake that could damage the stitches on his right hand. (h/t Dakota Randall of NESN)
“I shook his hand as hard as I could,” Bortles said of his postgame handshake with Brady. “I was trying to pop those stitches. I get in there, gave him a nice, firm handshake and looked him in the eye and said, ‘Good luck.’ I want to say he said, ‘That was fun,’ and I was just like, ‘Man, what a statement. I’m glad I could entertain you a little bit.’ ”
Heading into the AFC Championship game, there had been much attention toward Brady's right hand after he suffered a cut in practice that required 12 stitches.
There was some concern that it could impact his play on the field, but that was silenced after he threw for 290 yards with a pair of touchdowns in the comeback win from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
The bitterness from Bortles was understandable after he came so close to earning his first trip to the Super Bowl in his career. The 25-year-old played exceptionally well in the game, throwing for 293 yards with a touchdown to put his team in position to secure a win.
However, Jacksonville only put together two scoring drives in the second half that resulted in a pair of field goals, which proved not to be enough against New England.
It isn't a dirty ploy by any means, as he certainly appears to be joking around. Still, it would be hard to blame him for letting his competitive nature take over in that moment.
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