Why has Tom Brady been so dominant against Aaron Rodgers?
Tom Brady might well be the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL. So naturally, he will have an excellent record against most of his adversaries, including Aaron Rodgers.
While there may well not be an adversary as naturally gifted as the defending NFL MVP, the Patriots legend still has a mightily impressive head-to-head record against him.
Sunday sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off against the Packers, with the 45-year-old looking to extend his winning record against Rodgers even further.
In all meetings between the pair up to this point, the former New England Patriots QB has a 3-1 record, losing just one encounter. It could well be considered a 4-1 record, although Rodgers only came off the bench in a 2006 Patriots win.
With both players having played for playoff contending teams for almost their entire respective careers, it is interesting to note that one QB has been able to win out on so many occasions.
Two of Brady's wins came during his career in New England, while the latest were with the Bucs.
How has Tom Brady been able to be so dominant against Aaron Rodgers?
A number of factors have given Brady the edge over his rival, most notably the lack of support given to the latter by Green Bay management over the years.
Both quarterbacks are immensely gifted, both are veteran leaders and, at times, both have been able to make players around them much better.
However, it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that the 45-year-old Buccaneers starter has had stronger options than Aaron Rodgers.
If you look at Rob Gronkowski, who has been present for all but one of Tom Brady's wins against the Packers, there has never been as talented an option at Rodgers’ disposal.
Davante Adams is the closest the Packers have come to having such a reliable, elite-level receiving option and they made the decision to trade him to the Raiders.
In matchups between the best players, it is often the supporting cast who can make the difference and Tom Terrific has always had the better one.
Aaron Rodgers has almost always underperformed
For as important as the supporting cast of players is, the performance of the stars can’t be discounted either. Here, it has to be said that Aaron Rodgers simply hasn’t delivered when faced with the GOAT.
He was outstanding in the 2014 victory over the Pats, throwing for 368 yards while completing 24 out of 38 passes. Even in defeat, Tom Brady was impressive as he threw 22 for 35 over 245 yards.
The disconnect came in 2018 when the Green Bay quarterback could only complete 24 out of 43 attempted passes. While not disastrous, it allowed New England to ease to a 31-17 win, utilizing their dominant running game.
In 2020, there was a 38-10 blowout when the Bucs stormed through Green Bay’s defense and Aaron Rodgers had one of the worst games of his career.
He completed 16 of 35 passes for 160 yards and scored no touchdowns. There were also two interceptions whilst TB12 was excellent as he completed 17 of 27 passes with two touchdowns.
The 2021 NFC Championship game saw both play well, but yet again, in the key moment, Rodgers fell short. He threw an interception and secured a fourth successive defeat in the conference championship game.
Tom Brady is the better QB in pressure situations
Aaron Rodgers is a classy quarterback, everything he does is perfect and he always maintains his cool exterior. You could even argue that he is more technically proficient.
If you were to draw comparisons between this battle and the one in soccer involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the latter is far more naturally gifted, almost to a scary degree. However, Ronaldo has managed to keep pace with him through sheer hard work.
Aaron Rodgers is naturally talented, he’s a born QB, whereas Tom Brady has had to prove people wrong and work incredibly hard to get to his position.
This may well have manifested itself in important matches between the pair, with Brady often able to perform in pressure situations.
If you look at Aaron Rodgers’ record in NFC Championship games, it’s clear that he can’t consistently get his team over the line. This shows itself in his record against Tom Brady.
What to expect on Sunday?
The meeting between the Bucs and Packers on Sunday will be an interesting one, mostly because of the differing positions of the two quarterbacks.
Tom Brady is having an incredibly challenging time in his personal life, with him reneging on his intention to take every Wednesday off to placate his wife, Gisele Bundchen.
Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers appears to be in a calm place away from the sport. But he is getting used to a heavily-changed offense after some restructuring by the franchise in the offseason.
The Bucs head into the game at 2-0, while the Packers are 1-1 after a dreadful opening defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.
Given the solidity of the Bucs, the likely outcome is that Tom Brady will continue to exert his dominance over A-Rod.