The Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) hit the road this weekend for the first of a two-game road swing and will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) and veteran quarterback Tom Brady.
Heading into this game, the headlines will be all about Joe Burrow and Brady. The attention these two quarterbacks demand is why CBS chose this game to be their game of the week kicking off at 4:25 p.m.
Some pundits view Burrow as the closest comparison to Brady in the way they prepare and play the game. Both quarterbacks are incredibly competitive and have complete buy-in from their teammates and coaches. Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between Burrow and Brady.
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They play the game similar in a way, also. Brady has never been a mobile quarterback and his biggest weapon is his mind. He’s able to diagnose what a defense is trying to do pre-snap better than anyone in the NFL. He’s also one of the most accurate quarterbacks to this day even at the age of 45.
“He takes such incredible care of himself and he knows exactly what it takes to play football as an NFL quarterback for a 17-game season,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said of Brady’s ability to still throw the ball at a high level. “There is nobody that probably does it better than him as far as the discipline it takes to maintain that body health if you will. It's pretty incredible."
Burrow possesses similar traits as he’s often praised for his football IQ, and he takes great pride in making sure he ranks at the top of the league in completions every year. Brady and Burrow also have shown the ability to inspire and get the most out of their teammates.
“I'm glad he's on my team, I'll tell you that,” BJ Hill said of his appreciation for Burrow. “I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He proves it each and every week. To have him on my team, it means a lot.”
In his second season, Burrow won the AFC Championship and took the Bengals to Super Bowl 56. Brady won his first Super Bowl in his second season, first as the starting quarterback for the Patriots, in 2002. He’s gone on to win six more Super Bowls since (2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021).
Burrow is not big on comparisons to anyone. It doesn’t fit his independent personality of wanting to write his own story.
“It is what it is,” Burrow said of the comparison. “I don't really pay attention to it. He's Tom and I'm Joe.”
Sunday afternoon has all of the makings to be a quarterback clinic at Raymond James Stadium. Brady and the Bucs are coming off one of their worst losses of the year having just lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Tampa scored seven points and gave up 35 on the road.
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Despite being 6-7, the Bucs still remain the division leader in the NFC South. This game is critical for Tampa to stay in the drivers seat for a chance to make the postseason.
The Bengals will be expecting Brady’s best and center Ted Karras knows firsthand what he’s like and is capable of after a loss from his time blocking for him in New England. Karras does see similarities in both quarterbacks now that he’s played with Brady and Burrow.“Competitive drive … the great leadership skills,” Karras said of Burrow and Brady. “The quarterback being the pinnacle of the team. Obviously the age disparity to me is kind of a refresher for me that Joe is 26 and more of a peer where as Tom was a larger than life figure but I’m 0-1 against Tom so I want to get this win and even it up.”
At the end of the day, although the quarterbacks will certainly draw the most attention, this game will come down to which team plays the best.
And that’s why Burrow is treating this just as another game.
“It's our 14th game of the season,” Burrow said. “ You know, obviously, the greatest quarterback ever is on the other side, but we've got a job to do too and our job is to go and win, get to 10-4 and move on.”
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