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Brady recalls fiery sideline spat with Texans' O'Brien: 'I deserved it'

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and current Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien spent five seasons working together, with O'Brien acting as the Patriots' offensive coordinator in 2011.

That season brought what's arguably O'Brien's most memorable moment as a member of the Patriots. During a win over the Washington Redskins, Brady threw an interception in the end zone. The veteran pivot then criticized intended receiver Tiquan Underwood for his effort when they got to the sidelines.

Brady's attitude apparently didn't sit well with O'Brien, and the two engaged in an epic shouting match, which ultimately required head coach Bill Belichick to come over and intervene.

With Brady's Patriots set to face off with O'Brien's Texans in Saturday's divisional round, Brady reminisced about the sideline argument during an appearance Monday on WEEI's "Kirk & Callahan."

"He kind of let me have it. I deserved it," Brady said, according to CSNNE.com's Phil Perry. "It was kind of a dumb throw. I deserved it. I kind of chirped back, and he didn't like it. I was kind of fiery at the time, too.

"We cooled off pretty quick. That's Billy's style. Billy's gonna let you know if he doesn't like something that you did. He handles it in the right way, in a way that you really respected. You know he's fiery, you know he just wants to get the job done. We cooled off. We ended up winning the game (when) Jerod Mayo made a great interception to end that game. By the time we got to the locker room we were good.

"There are a lot of emotions in this game. You wear them on your sleeve, and sometimes you just fire off. That's just the way it goes."

Here's video of the epic spat:

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