All eyes will be on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs when they clash on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. For veteran quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, this is a must-win game to keep their hopes of winning the NFC South alive. The Buccaneers suffered a devastating 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. Brady struggled with two interceptions, one coming in the game's dying minutes that derailed their chance to complete a game-winning drive. While Brady struggles with his long ball lately, the Chiefs are not leaving anything to chance, with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo expecting Brady to be at his best on Sunday.
"I mean, I'm washing that right out because we prepare against the player that is going to be at his best," Spagnuolo said in Friday's media conference, per a report by Joe Andrews of Sports Illustrated.
Spagnuolo had met Brady eight times in his coaching career, beating the veteran quarterback and the New England Patriots twice, first in Super Bowl XLII when he was still the New York Giants' defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo also helped the Chiefs beat Brady and the Patriots in the 2019 regular season. According to Spagnuolo, Brady's preparation remains the same despite the veteran quarterback's disappointing play against the Rams, where he passed for 216 yards and two touchdowns with two picks.
While Spagnuolo believes that the Buccaneers' offense is working through the kinks, he still sees an "extremely good football player that we need to worry about" in Brady.
Chiefs defensive end says Brady is GOAT
Chiefs defensive end Alex Okafor acknowledged that Brady is the greatest of all time (GOAT), and the way to affect his performance and prevent him from throwing the long ball is to put pressure in the middle of the pocket.
Brady is having trouble connecting with his wide receivers via the long ball, as he was 0-for-19 on deep passes of 20 yards or more from Weeks 8 to 11. However, Brady has made a living off intermediate throws, which helped him win six Super Bowl trophies with the Patriots. As of now, Brady has 2,995 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with nine picks.
"I hope he is not at his best on Sunday," Spagnuolo said, adding that they are aware of what Brady can do when he's at his best.
Brady lauds Mahomes for his success
Brady will square off with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the fourth time in their respective career. The two quarterbacks split their first two regular-season meetings, while Brady scored a huge win over Mahomes in the 2018 AFC Championship Game. The following year, Mahomes won Super Bowl LIV and captured the Super Bowl MVP trophy to go with the NFL regular-season MVP that he won in 2018. Despite his recent success, Mahomes said he's not on Brady's level yet, describing the Buccaneers quarterback as a global star. At Friday's press conference, Brady lauded Mahomes and his young career accomplishments, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports.
After winning league MVP in 2018, Brady lauded Mahomes for his continued success when he won the Super Bowl last year and playing at a high level this season. "He's just getting more and more comfortable," said Brady. The Buccaneers have entered the week as a four-point underdog to the Chiefs.