Tom Brady reveals surprising pick for all-time favorite NFL arena: "That stadium was always crazy"
Tom Brady visited almost every NFL stadium during his incredible 23-year career and got a firsthand experience of the atmosphere, uniqueness and difficulty of playing in each one.
The Miami Dolphins are the only team that has faced him at least twice at home and has more wins than losses against the seven-time Super Bowl winner. They are 8-10 against him at Hard Rock Stadium.
Brady has good memories of playing in every stadium, except the Seattle Seahawks' home, Lumen Field, where he has an 0-1 record. However, his favorite away arena is the one where he tasted the most success. In a Q&A segment on the NFL on Fox's YouTube channel, the quarterback revealed that he loved playing at the Highmark Stadium, home to the Buffalo Bills.
Brady listed three reasons why he enjoyed his trips to Orchard Park. His first was the proximity. Buffalo is about an hour and a half away on a flight, making it the least taxing road game for the quarterback and the New England Patriots. His second reason was the Bills Mafia. He said:
"(The Bills) have incredible fans in Buffalo. Every time you would drive into the stadium, it was like the craziest environments from 9 a.m. on. Those fans know how to get it rocking. That stadium was always crazy." [From 2:12]
The last reason was pretty straightforward. He added:
"The third part was: we had a lot of success there. So, there were a lot of big games; they were a tough division rival; it felt like football weather all the time. It was challenging; it was rainy; it was wet; it was windy; it was cold. The games always meant something, and we found a way to overcome it." [From 2:26]
Tom Brady's away record vs. Bills: QB dominated in Buffalo
Tom Brady played 18 games against the Bills on the road and won 16, losing only two. Losing in Buffalo wasn't a feeling the quarterback was familiar with.
His first road loss against the Patriots' divisional rivals came in their season-opener of the 2003 NFL season, and it was a notable defeat. The Bills thrashed Brady and the Patriots 31-0, the first shutout loss of his career.
The Bills wouldn't taste victory at home against Brady for eight more years, though. They finally ended Tom Brady's six-game winning streak in Buffalo in 2011. In a Week 3 battle at Highmark Stadium, the Patriots raced to a 21-0 lead and were seemingly set to hand Buffalo another beatdown.
However, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick helped his team outscore the Patriots 34-10 in the final two and a half quarters, leading them to victory. Normal service resumed the next year, as Brady won his next eight games in Buffalo.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion tormented the Bills for 20 seasons, and no team was as happy as them to see Tom Brady leave the Patriots in 2020.