Pressuring Tom Brady with only four rushers is critical for Rams on Sunday

[theramswire.usatoday.com] Pressuring Tom Brady with only four rushers is critical for Rams on Sunday

Cameron DaSilva
January 19, 2022 5:40 am PT

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Over the course of his career, Tom Brady has excelled against the blitz. Sending extra rushers at the seven-time Super Bowl champion is a futile effort because not only does he often recognize the blitz, but he finds open receivers quickly to counter it.

That’s critical for the Los Angeles Rams to understand as they prepare to face Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday’s playoff matchup.


Like any other quarterback, pressuring Brady is the best way to throw him off. He only had a passer rating of 68.4 when under pressure this season, with a PFF grade (52.3) that ranked 14th in the NFL. But if the Rams are going to rattle Brady and apply pressure, they must do so without blitzing.

Sean McVay realizes the importance of rushing the quarterback with only four defenders, which the Rams are plenty capable of doing with Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd and Greg Gaines up front.

“It’s huge. I mean, you are always talking about changing the math and if you can apply pressure while you’re rushing four when they’re protecting with five or six people – now you’ve got the numbers in our favor. You can play loaded coverages. And then with some of the different personnel we have on the back end, now you can really gain some elements and some advantages, but Von’s been outstanding. I think he’s really clicked it up a notch this last month. Thought he played great from the jump yesterday and really excited about him building on that performance.”

Going up against Brady is a huge challenge, especially with this being a playoff game. No quarterback has won more in the postseason than Brady and he has 85 touchdown passes to just 38 interceptions in his playoff career.

McVay shared what makes Brady such a tough quarterback to beat, immediately pointing to his experience.

“I mean, he’s got so much experience,” McVay said. “He’s so smart. He’s so twitchy in his upper half and can beat it up. He recognizes exactly what’s going on. And so, I think the best way is try to influence and affect – move him off his spot, be able to win with your rushes. Easier said than done. It’s why he’s the most successful quarterback of all time.”

The Rams have beaten Brady and the Buccaneers in each of their last two games, most recently in Week 3. In that game, Brady completed 41 of 55 passes for 432 yards with one touchdown, but he was sacked three times. Last season, he attempted 48 passes and threw two picks, though the Rams only got home for one sack.

Brady and the Rams know each other well, with this being their third meeting since 2020, so it’ll be a chess match when they kick off on Sunday afternoon.