Even if the Patriots beat the Giants tonight, it won’t be the first time Tom Brady has ruined things for Daniel Jones.
The first time was when Jones was 6.
The Giants rookie quarterback recalled being disappointed when Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl XXXVIII win over his hometown Panthers in February 2004.
“I remember where I watched it. Went to a friend’s house. The Dickens’ house. A family friend,” Jones said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com “Obviously it was heartbreaking when [kicker Adam] Vinatieri made that field goal.”
Asked if he’s hated Brady ever since, Jones gave a very Jones-like response: “Not really. Don’t think I knew that much at that age. Knew I liked the Panthers.”
That was Brady’s second Super Bowl title, and he’s since then stacked four more on top of it. Jones, since then, has left elementary and middle school, graduated from high school, played at Duke and won the Giants’ starting job.
“Grew up watching him. Obviously he’s won a lot, achieved a lot in his career,” Jones said. “So a lot of respect for that.”
Jones was 4 when Brady won his first Super Bowl, and is arguably playing better now at the age of 42 as he was then.