Schadenfreude was not on Tom Brady's public agenda Sunday afternoon.
Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved to 9-5 with a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons on the same day his former team, the New England Patriots, was officially eliminated from postseason contention.
It's the first time the Patriots won't make the playoffs since 2008, which was also the last time Brady wasn't New England's quarterback for the duration of the season.
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Belichick reacts to Patriots being eliminated from playoff contention
But Brady declined to rub salt in the Patriots' wound Sunday when asked about his old club missing the playoffs.
"As far as the Patriots, they have their own thing going," Brady told reporters. "I’ve really been focused on how my play needs to be at quarterback (and) the execution I need. They’re not really an opponent of mine.
"Obviously I have a lot of friends there, a lot of great relationships, but they’ve been focused on what they need to do and I’ve been trying to focus on what my job is."
New England Patriots
Brady's diplomatic response should be expected: He took a similar high road earlier this season when asked about the Patriots starting the season 2-5.
"I don't ever wish for anyone to not perform at their best," Brady said at the time.
Might there be a part of the 43-year-old QB that relishes in his former club -- and his former boss, Bill Belichick -- coming up short without him? Possibly, but Brady is much too smart to say any of that out loud.
Instead, he'll get his point across by gushing about the Florida weather and gleefully admitting he's glad to be out of the Northeast.