Tom Brady is the headliner in Week 5’s Thursday night matchup between the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and rightfully so. He’s arguably the greatest quarterback — and player — in NFL history and will challenge Chicago’s defense to prove whether it’s a legitimate Super Bowl-worthy unit or just an average middling group.
Brady is beginning to heat up after a slow start in 2020, the first season in his 21-year career that he’s not a Patriot. A slow start was to be expected, but that’s ancient history after his five-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.
He’s thrown for 1,122 yards and 11 touchdowns in four games.
The Bears’ history against Brady isn’t great. They’ve faced him five times and lost all five games. He’s averaging over 300 yards per game against Chicago and has a 15:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
So, yeah. Brady owns the Bears.
“What you see is a guy who knows the game inside out,” said Bears coach Matt Nagy. “He attacks you downfield. There’s never any panic. I mean, he gets behind 17 points or 20 points, [but] it doesn’t matter. You’re always in the game with him.
“It’s hard to rattle him. It’s hard to get to him, just because the game is extremely slow to him right now. I just have ultimate respect for him. He’s one of the best, if not the best, to play the game at that position. I think Tampa is certainly feeling that right now and understanding how great of a player and person that he is.”
Part of what makes Brady so special is the way he attacks a defense’s vulnerabilities. He finds a weakness and exploits it.
Danny Trevathan? Are you paying attention?
Trevathan has been downright brutal in coverage this season, earning every bit of his 37.9 coverage grade through four games from Pro Football Focus. It’s the worst coverage grade for any Bears defender.
When Trevathan’s on the field, expect Brady to attack him.
“We’ve got to do a great job of disguising [coverages],” said defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. “We’ve got to do a great job pre-snap and post-snap. There’s nothing that he has not seen. We’ve got to stop the run. We’ve got to get pressure on him somehow, someway.
“Again, it’s always a huge challenge anytime you face him.”