Sunday’s primetime showdown at Gillette Stadium will feature a rare matchup between two of the best quarterbacks the NFL has to offer.
For the first time since 2014, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will square off as the New England Patriots host the Green Bay Packers on “Sunday Night Football.”
Brady, who guided the Patriots to a 25-6 road victory over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, had incredibly high praise for Rodgers during a Tuesday morning interview with WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan.
“What he’s done as a quarterback, I think it’s inspiring, even for me,” the 41-year-old QB said. “I watch his game, and it makes me want to get out there and practice and improve, because I think he’s so phenomenal with the way he manages himself in the pocket. And his ability to throw the football is unlike anyone probably in the history of the league.
“It’s pretty awesome to watch. He throws some of the best incompletions I have ever seen.”
Brady’s and Rodgers’ names both are mentioned in the contentious “best quarterback ever” debate. Brady, a longtime friend of Rodgers, wants no part of that argument, calling it “a hypothetical question that is just truly impossible to answer.”
“It’s hard to compare positions and eras,” Brady said on “K&C.” “It’s impossible to answer. I think Aaron is one of the best ever to play the game. He’s got every skill you need to be a great quarterback. I think there is a lot of other guys who are playing today that are phenomenal — Ben Roethlisberger, I think he is an incredible player; what Drew Brees has done.
“And I am just talking players who are playing. I mean, Peyton Manning — I don’t think there was anyone who commanded the position better than Peyton what he did from Indy to Denver. That was spectacular. I got a chance to play against Brett Favre, and I saw Steve Young (Monday) night, and Joe Montana is a guy I have always looked up to.”
Since they’ve played their entire NFL careers in separate conferences, Brady and Rodgers have started against each other just once — in a 26-21 Packers win at Lambeau Field four years ago. This will be Rodgers’ first regular-season visit to Foxboro, Mass., as he missed the teams’ 2010 meeting with an injury.
Rodgers, who also relieved an injured Favre during a 35-0 loss to the Patriots in 2006, completed 18 of 30 passes for 286 yards with one touchdown with no interceptions Sunday in a 29-27 road loss to the undefeated Los Angeles Rams.
“It is going to be a big challenge for our defense,” Brady said on “K&C.” “We’re going to try and make it hard on their defense and we’ll see how it shakes out. They have had a lot of close games this year. I am sure this will come down to the wire.”
