Brady Knows the Fire: What Stafford Faces Against Detroit
Tom Brady shares insights on the emotional challenges Matthew Stafford may face as he prepares to compete against his former team, the Lions, during Sunday's game.
Tom Brady will be calling Sunday's game when Matthew Stafford takes on the Lions—the franchise he quarterbacked for 12 seasons before the Rams acquired him in 2021. Brady understands the emotional weight of the moment.
In his latest mailbag, the seven-time Super Bowl champion reflected on his own return to face the New England Patriots as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer in 2021, offering insight into what Stafford might experience.
"Obviously, when the schedule came out, I circled that date," Brady said of that October matchup. "I was really fired up to go back there because, again, I've been in that other locker room, the home locker room, so many times. To go on the road and be in the visiting locker room was a different experience, but I knew every nook and cranny of that stadium. In some ways, it still felt like a fun home game."
"There was a lot of buildup in the week of practice. Then, in the pregame, when I ultimately got onto the field, I just flipped a switch. It was all about being back out there on that gameday and trying to operate business as usual."
The Statistics Don't Tell the Whole Story
Brady's 2021 return wasn't his cleanest performance statistically. He completed just 22 of 43 passes for 269 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Yet the Buccaneers won 19-17—and that victory was what mattered most.
But the postgame proved different. The emotions hit Brady hard after the final whistle.
"I remember there was a really cool sequence in the interview where I was talking about what it meant to be back out there. I remember the press conference after the game was a crowded group of reporters. It just meant a lot because there were so many great memories that you shared in that stadium."
Stafford's Road Back
Stafford won't play at Ford Field on Sunday—the Rams-Lions matchup is at SoFi Stadium. But he's already returned to Detroit twice since 2021, and both visits drew hostile crowds.
In the 2023 wild-card playoff game, the Rams lost a tight contest to the Lions. Last season, Stafford faced Detroit again in an overtime loss to open the 2024 campaign. The boos from Ford Field were loud both times.
There's only one way for Stafford to silence them.
"I really wanted to get that one," Brady said of his Patriots showdown. "And guess what? We got that one."
Surely, Stafford will feel the same way come Sunday.
