Sunday night will feature a rare moment to be savoured by NFL fans when legendary quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, of the Green Bay Packers, and Tom Brady, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, go head to head for just the third time in their illustrious careers.
One is considered the greatest pure passer of the ball and is the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history, the other has won more games than any other quarterback ever and an incredible six Super Bowls. So, who will have the upper hand by the end of Week 6?
Let's go inside this eagerly-awaited matchup between two sure-fire Hall of Famers.
The CV's
Aaron Rodgers is in his 16th NFL season – all with the Packers – and is playing as well as ever, perhaps spurred on by the offseason drafting of first-round quarterback-in-waiting Jordan Love. Rodgers has thrown for 48,160 yards, 377 touchdowns and just 84 interceptions in his NFL career. His quarterback rating of 103.0 is the highest of all time. Rodgers, who has not thrown an interception while leading Green Bay to at least 30 points in every game this season, has twice been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, has been voted to eight Pro Bowls and picked up his only Super Bowl win at the end of the 2010 season.
Tom Brady is in his 21st season and first with the Buccaneers after spending his first 20 years in New England, where he played in nine Super Bowls, winning a record six. Brady has thrown for 75,946 yards, 553 touchdowns and 183 interceptions for a rating of 97.0. His 222 career wins are a record for any quarterback in NFL history. The living legend has been named the league's Most Valuable Player on three occasions and has been voted to 14 Pro Bowls. Brady has made a decent start to life with the Buccaneers and has shown there is still life left in his 43-year-old arm.
The Previous Meetings
Week 13, 2014 | New England 21 Green Bay 26 | Lambeau Field
Aaron Rodgers threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay's victory.
Week 9, 2018 | Green Bay 17 New England 31 | Gillette Stadium
Tom Brady threw for 294 yards and one touchdown in New England's win at home
(On both occasions when Brady and Rodgers met in the regular season, Brady went on to win the Super Bowl later that same year)
It's A Fact!
- Aaron Rodgers has a QB rating 31.6 points higher than Brady. Green Bay's signal-caller has a rating of 128.4 in leading the Packers to a 4-0 start, while Brady has a rating of 96.8 during Tampa's 3-2 opening.
- Rodgers leads the NFL with 20.1 percent of his passes going deep (more than 20+ air yards). Brady is also being aggressive in 2020 with 14.8 percent of his throws covering 20+ air yards to rank third in the NFL.
- Rodgers and Brady are both from California and both were overlooked by their hometown San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft. In 2000, the Niners selected Giovanni Carmazzi from Hofstra in the third round while Brady was on the board. In 2005, San Franscisco chose Alex Smith first overall, leaving Rodgers to endure a long wait in the green room.
- The Bucs are coming off 10 days of rest following a Thursday Night Football game in Week 5. Brady has won 12 of his last 13 games since 2014 when coming off that much rest.
What They're Saying…
"There's a lot to like about his play and his ability to pass the football. Everybody is always in awe of how he makes it look so easy with his throwing motion, the velocity on the ball, the placement and how quickly the ball gets from his hand to the receiver's hands. It has been unbelievable to watch over the years and he has kept it going." – Tom Brady on Aaron Rodgers.
"I think fans should enjoy what they get to watch because there are some guys who people have watched for 15-plus, 20-plus years at the position who are some of the best to ever play it. I think it's good that we just enjoy it for what it is, have respect and admiration for the way that we have played over this time and enjoy where we're at in our careers now." – Aaron Rodgers.
"Every time you go against a guy of that calibre, you're always expecting him to be at his best and we've got no reason to think otherwise. I think he's always answered the bell and he's put a lot of great stuff out there this year too." – Packers head coach Matt LaFleur on Tom Brady.
"I'm pretty sure my quarterback knows what fourth down is." – Packers running back Jamaal Williams, poking fun at Tom Brady's 'fourth down' error at Chicago in Week 5.
"You look at it as a cool thing until the clock starts running. I don't really care if it's Nate Peterman or Tom Brady on the other side honestly. Just because that has nothing to do with what I'm doing." – Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, staying focused on his own game.
Where to Watch
The Packers-Buccaneers game will be exclusively live on Sky Sports NFL, kicking off at 9.25pm.
