Remember when Tom Brady taught us how to throw a ball in the wind while calling a playoff game in Philadelphia last season? Well, the GOAT had another lesson for us on Sunday. As the rain poured down in Sunday's Los Angeles Rams-Philadelphia Eagles game, Brady broke down how quarterbacks should throw the ball in the rain and how the wet conditions can impact a quarterback's pass.
"You’re going to get a lot of beads on the leather. It’s obviously important to get a good grip, but you just can’t transition your arm quite as quickly, because if there’s any backwards momentum with the football and the ball's wet, it could splash out the back of your palm," Brady said on the broadcast. "So a lot of the time you’re a little slower in your mechanics so you can transition that ball without losing it as a fumble.
While the rain makes it difficult for a quarterback to release a pass, it also affects his receivers in their route-running if a pass is impacted by the rain. For Brady, the mix of the pass thrown and the likelihood of catching a pass in those conditions doesn't make for the cleanest performance through the air. "And then after you throw it, you expect the receiver that he’s gotta catch it, but it’s a lot different for him too," Brady continued.
"There’s beads on the ball, there’s beads on his gloves, just the overall efficiency of the pass throwing goes way down. That’s why it plays a defensive advantage, and you got to be able to run the football." Luckily for the Rams, they were able to run the football late in Sunday's game. Kyren Williams finished the day with 80 yards on 16 carries.
Williams also rushed for two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. On his second touchdown, Williams trucked through the Eagles' defense on a 7-yard run up the gut. But the quarterbacks struggled while throwing in the wet conditions.
Matthew Stafford was 32 of 51 for 317 yards, averaging just 6.2 yards per attempt as he also threw two interceptions. Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, completed just 12 of 27 passes for a measly 93 yards in the Eagles' loss.
