The Los Angeles Rams are all praises for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, avoiding providing the veteran signal-caller any bulletin board material that he can use to further fuel his drive in Week 3 clash on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
In his earlier interview, Rams head coach Sean McVay heaped praises on the 44-year-old Brady, saying the Buccaneers quarterback is playing "as well as he ever has" after throwing for nine touchdown passes in Tampa Bay's win over the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons.
Now it's Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's turn to praise Brady, who will play in Los Angeles for the first time in his 22-year NFL career.
"Just ton of respect for what he's done, what he's been able to do, both on and off the field," Stafford said of Brady, adding "the guy throws it as good as anybody in the league still", per Stu Jackson of Rams.com.
Stafford lauds Brady's long ball
Stafford also praised Brady's throwing ability, especially his long ball and his ball placement and anticipation. "So he can do it all. From the pocket, that guy's as good as it gets," he added. Based on NFL Media Research, Jackson reported that Stafford and Brady have each won one matchup head-to-head in their careers, excluding their Week 16 clash last season where Stafford was still playing for the Detroit Lions. In that game, Brady led the Buccaneers to a 47-7 win over the Lions, who lost Stafford to a rib injury on their first drive.
Overall, Brady has a 5-1 mark against the Rams, with the only loss coming last season, 27-24, when Jared Goff was the quarterback for Los Angeles. The Rams traded Goff for Stafford after the season, and the move paid immediate dividends as they opened the season with two straight wins. The Rams entered the week as a slight 1.5-point favorite over the Buccaneers in the battle between two of the high-powered offenses in the NFL today.
The Buccaneers currently lead the NFL in scoring with 39.5 points after scoring 31 and 48 against the Cowboys and the Falcons, respectively. The Rams, for their part, averaged 30.5 points per outing in their first two games.
Bucs release first Week 3 injury report
Two Buccaneers players were held out of practice on Wednesday ahead of their first road game of the season in Los Angeles.
According to Scott Smith of Buccaneers, those two players were wide receiver/kick returner Jaydon Mickens and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul. Paul has a shoulder injury in addition to a hand injury, while Mickens is dealing with an abdomen injury that he sustained against the Falcons. According to head coach Bruce Arians, the two players are considered day to day. The Buccaneers also placed three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including inside linebacker Kevin Minter, wide receiver Travis Jonsen, and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
