Bengals defense was motivated by Tom Brady's subtle dig

Ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 15 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady said that the Bengals had a "fairly tough defense" on his "Let's Go!" podcast. While the comment didn't appear to be a dig at the team, the defense certainly took it that way.

In the first half, Brady carved up the Bengals D and had his Buccaneers up 17-0 at one point. They held a 17-3 advantage at the half.

The second half is when the Bengals defense regrouped and decided it'd be more fun to make Brady's life hell. They showed him that they were not a "fairly tough defense" but a really good defense.

Bengals defense used Tom Brady's comment as motivation

Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic noted that he frequently heard "fairly tough" thrown around by the defense throughout the week and said it clearly struck a nerve with the unit. They picked off Brady twice, made him fumble twice, and sacked him once.

B.J. Hill trolled Brady after the game by saying "We just knew we were a fairly tough defense" when speaking with the media.

The defense got whooped in the first half but then flipped the script when it mattered most. They did allow Brady to throw for 300 yards, meaning that record of not having a 300-yard passer is no more but most fans would gladly take the result that happened if it meant that streak had to end.

When will teams learn to stop trash-talking the Bengals?