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In a career spanning 10 Super Bowls, Tom Brady certainly has gone up against some of the toughest defenders in NFL history. It is fitting that he is, nonetheless, the one who ought to know it most. In a recent Verizon mailbag, Brady was asked the question, Who is the defensive player that gave him the toughest challenge on the biggest stage? He did not hesitate with an answer.
Brady will be in New Orleans on February 9, not as a player, but as an analyst for Fox Sports alongside Kevin Burkhardt. This is his first Super Bowl alongside the TV screen, capping off his inaugural season as an analyst. With experience like his, expect nothing but great insight from the GOAT himself for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles showdown.
Tom Brady names the toughest defender he faced in his ten Super Bowl appearances
On Thursday, Tom Brady was asked an essential question about his playing days-the best defensive player he faced in his ten Super Bowl appearances. The response came fast and without much hesitation, former Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, whom Brady faced in 2018.
“Okay, this is an easy one,” Brady said. “There’s one guy late in my career who I went against, and every time we played them, he was an absolute nuisance. But in the Super Bowl in 2018 against the Rams, we faced Aaron Donald. We actually limited his ability to make a lot of plays in that game because we had a lot of double teams. Every single play—run, pass, including pass protection—was designed to keep him out of the backfield and prevent him from making negative plays.”
He added:
“Now, he didn’t make many negative plays, but at the same time, we only scored 13 points in that game. It was one of the hardest games I’ve ever played and one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced because he forced us to do so many things we didn’t necessarily want to do from a game plan standpoint. Even though we impacted his ability to affect the game on the stat sheet, it still affected our ability to score points. Thank God our defense played so great, or we wouldn’t have won that game.”
Brady’s Patriots clinched Super Bowl LIII against Donald’s Rams in a memorable defensive showdown, ending with a score of 13-3. Despite Donald’s stellar 20.5 sacks in the regular season, earning him the Defensive Player of the Year, his performance in the Super Bowl was subdued. He managed only one solo tackle and no sacks, with just two pressures, marking one of his least impactful games that year according to Pro Football Focus.
However, Donald’s resilience shone in Super Bowl LVI, where he was back on his home turf in Los Angeles. Facing the Cincinnati Bengals, he played a pivotal role in securing a 23-20 victory with a game-sealing play. His dominance was undeniable, showcasing why he’s been a 10-time Pro Bowler and eight-time All-Pro.
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Contrastingly, Brady’s performance in Super Bowl LIII was notably underwhelming. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards but threw an interception. The Patriots’ offense struggled, only managing a touchdown in the fourth quarter via a 29-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski, setting up a short run by Sony Michel for the score.
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