During Tom Brady‘s time with the Patriots, he beat the Rams and coach Sean McVay twice, including Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. Since Brady became a Buccaneer, he’s 0-2 against McVay’s Rams.
They meet again on Sunday afternoon, with a berth in the NFC Championship on the line. On Tuesday, McVay addressed the challenge of slowing down a quarterback who is nine years older than the L.A. coach.
“I mean, he’s got so much experience,” McVay said of Brady. “He’s so smart. He’s so twitchy in his upper half and can beat it up. He recognizes exactly what’s going on. And so I think the best way is try to influence and affect — move him off his spot, be able to win with your rushes. Easier said than done. It’s why he’s the most successful quarterback of all time.”
Indeed it is. Making it a little easier is having Aaron Donald, who can create havoc in the middle of an offensive line. Brady, who is adept at avoid pressure from the outside, has a harder time dealing with pressure in his face.
McVay addressed Donald’s mindset when facing Brady.
“I think it’s tremendous respect, but not fear,” McVay said. “I think you’re talking about two of the best at what they do with Aaron and Tom. And so, as a competitor, he is a great, phenomenal player. We have tremendous respect for him, but we’re going to have the expectation and anticipation that we’re preparing to try to go win this game. And so, we know what a great challenge it’s going to be. We’ve got to have a great week of work, and then go play to the best of our ability and let the chips fall where they may. But I know Aaron has a lot of respect for Tom, and I’m sure Tom would say the same thing about Aaron.”
Both teams won easily in the wild-card round. Both looked good enough to advance to the Super Bowl. Obviously, only one will. It’s what makes the divisional round so compelling.
Really, any of the eight remaining teams is good enough to win it all. In Tampa, two extremely viable candidates will square off on Sunday, and one will experience an abrupt and disappointing end to its season.