Eli Apple of Cincinnati Bengals walking out of tunnel (left). Tom Brady of Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on after loss (right).
It’s not easy to make Tom Brady eat his words, but the Cincinnati Bengals managed to do just that on Sunday evening.

Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback made headlines when he said the Bengals were “fairly tough” on during the latest edition of his “Let’s Go!” podcast (via Ben Baby of ESPN.com).

The Bengals defense certainly didn’t look “fairly tough” on defense in the first half. The visitors surrendered the game’s first 17 points, and they finally broke the shutout when kicker Evan McPherson made a field goal at the end of the second quarter.

But Cincinnati’s defense completely took over the second half, forcing Brady into four turnovers (two interceptions and two forced fumbles). The special teams’ unit also forced a turnover on downs following a botched fake punt play by Cincinnati.

Joe Burrow and the offense didn’t waste the opportunities, as Cincinnati put up 34 unanswered points before giving up a garbage time touchdown. The visitors cruised to a 34-23 victory, and B.J. Hill and Eli Apple of the didn’t forget Brady’s “fairly tough” comments.

This will certainly go down as one of the ugliest losses of Brady’s football career. Not only did the Bucs blow a 17-0 lead and commit four brutal second-half turnovers, but Brady has now lost eight-plus games in a season for the first time in his career.

The good news for the Bucs? The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons both lost on Sunday, so Brady and company are still sitting atop the NFC South with three games to go. They still control their own destiny for the division crown.

Tampa Bay will try to end a two-game losing skid when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night next week. Cincy’s win, coupled with the Baltimore Ravens’ loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, means the Bengals are now sitting alone atop the AFC North.