Brandon Graham Had Clear Message For Eagles With Tom Brady In Building

FOXBORO, Mass. — Brandon Graham knew the Philadelphia Eagles could encounter an emotionally-charged environment with Tom Brady back at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

So, the veteran defensive end wanted to get out head of things to make sure Brady being in attendance wouldn’t sidetrack the Eagles.

Graham delivered a message to his Eagles teammates the night before the game, relaying that despite Brady being in the building, there was no chance of the legendary quarterback making a difference on the outcome of the game this time around.

“That was part of my speech last night,” Graham told NESN.com following Philadelphia’s 25-20 season-opening win. “Just saying, ‘Don’t get all caught up in the hype. He’s going to be back. Honor the GOAT. But at the end of the day, the GOAT can’t help them. All he can try to do is bring some morale for them. But other than that, we got to make sure we execute when we’re out there because we know that (Bill) Belichick and them, they got a plan. We got to make sure we execute our plan.'”

It’s unsurprising that Graham would be intimated by the mere presence of Brady. The two will forever be linked after Graham had one of the defining plays of Super Bowl LII when he strip-sacked Brady in the final minutes.

Graham and the Eagles stout defense didn’t come up with a similar type of play in this contest, but did enough when it mattered most despite allowing Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to throw for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

Philadelphia stopped New England three times on fourth down over the final 10 minutes, giving the Eagles a hard-fought win that Graham acknowledged was extra satisfying given what the day meant to the Patriots organization with Brady being back.

“Just happy, in the sudden changes that we had on defense, that we came through, rose to the occasion,” Graham said. “That’s all you can ask for as a defense is the fight in the end.”