Tom Brady is changing the way we talk about football. The well-compensated Fox commentator has now introduced America to a new term for the second week in a row. Last week, it was “piss missile.” This week, we’re talking meatball subs.
The Los Angeles Chargers had a 13-0 lead in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, but Justin Herbert threw an egregious interception that disgusted Brady. Watching the replay, he pointed out the safety who caught the ball and said: “Poor awareness. Poor decision. Throws him a meatball sub.”
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Not the meatball sub reference 😭@TomBrady @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/jarDKtcMvY
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 27, 2026
The Bills immediately drove down the field and scored a touchdown to take the lead, but more importantly, we saw “meatball sub” in that context enter the mainstream in real time.
Oh no Tom Brady called a pick a meatball sub. It's officially mainstreamed. pic.twitter.com/eVUJ11D2QF
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) September 27, 2026
Herbert was not the only one receiving this criticism today. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was also accused of serving up meatball subs as he threw two interceptions. A search for “Drake Maye meatball sub” will return a number of AI-generated images showing him working at different sandwich chains.
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Meatball sub origins
“Meatball sub.. hot and toasty” 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/xIz6GaXmpf
— Gump Cathcart (@bubbagumpino) September 23, 2026
Some accounts were using the term last weekend, and Rams defensive end Kobie Turner said it after Los Angeles picked off Jameis Winston on Monday Night Football in Week 2. There was also a Reddit thread a couple weeks ago asking what exactly it meant.
As one person on Instagram suggested, it’s a derivative of the baseball term meatball, which means a pitch that’s easy to hit. The earliest sandwich reference may have been someone accusing Derek Carr of throwing a “fully loaded shrimp po’boy” to a defender in 2023.
It seems the meatball sub has remained an underground football delicacy for some time, but with Brady using the term, it’s probably here to stay.
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