Eagles might have a formula for beating Brady, Patriots

PHILADELPHIA – So the Eagles think they can stop New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady?

Well, get in line with the other 223 victims, including playoffs, who have tried, but failed, to beat Brady.

The Eagles, however, have had a modicum of success against the quarterback known by many as "GOAT," as in "greatest of all time."

The Eagles are 1-3 against Brady in his career. That, of course, isn't good. And they also lost their only postseason matchup against Brady, in the Super Bowl 13 years ago. They'll get another crack at him Sunday in the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.

In that first game, Brady, who was a mere 27 years old then and not quite known as GOAT (maybe billygoat? GOAT in training?), threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns.

But look at it this way: It's not as bad as the Buffalo Bills' 3-28 record against Brady. Brady also has a much better record against his most bitter AFC rivals. Brady is 10-3 against the Indianapolis Colts, going back to the days against Peyton Manning. He's 8-2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, mostly against Ben Roethlisberger.

In fact, there are only two NFL teams with a winning record against Brady – the Carolina Panthers at 3-2 and the Seattle Seahawks at 2-1. And of course, the New York Giants are 2-0 against Brady in the Super Bowl.

So there are things the Eagles can look at and emulate from the teams who have had success against Brady.

"It’s a copycat league," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "We try to see what works against him, and what’s consistent, and when people beat them, how they beat them, and what we gotta do, and where are we as a team to be able to do that."

"[Defensive coordinator Jim] Schwartz is a smart guy and we trust him to put us in the best position possible," Graham said. "Whatever he calls, we gotta execute."

But they won't get much help from when Eagles coach Doug Pederson was on the Green Bay Packers in 2002. That year, the Pack, led by Brett Favre, went to New England and beat up on the Patriots 28-10. In that game, Brady threw three interceptions. 

Brady has thrown three or more interceptions in a game seven times in his career. That might seem like a lot. But it isn't when you consider that Brady has played in 253 games and thrown nearly 9,000 passes since he was a sixth-round pick in the 2000 draft.

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"2002? Oh, gosh. Where did we play?" Pederson said. "I honestly do not remember. I'm sorry."

What about anything in general about Brady from back then?

"Good question," he replied. "You stumped me."

But the Eagles can look back at their most recent history against Brady. Their last game against the Patriots was a 35-28 win on Dec. 6, 2015 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Eagles, under former coach Chip Kelly, had a defense much, much worse than it is now. They came into that game at 4-7 while the Patriots were 10-1.

Yet the Eagles broke open a tie game at halftime and took a 35-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before Brady nearly rallied the Patriots back.

Brady went 29 of 56 for 312 yards and three touchdowns that day. He also threw two interceptions, one of them returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Malcolm Jenkins.

The Eagles also scored on a blocked punt that was returned 24 yards for a touchdown by Najee Goode, and an 83-yard punt return by Darren Sproles.

"There was some special stuff that happened in that game," Graham said. "And them boys, they still almost came back. You gotta play 60 minutes against them boys. We were up for a second, and the next thing you know is, ‘Man, we gotta get off the field (late in the fourth quarter).’ We know they’re going to bring their best, and we know they don’t quit."

That's obvious. Last year in the Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons led the Patriots 28-3 in the third quarter and lost.

In the AFC Championship game last Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars led the Patriots 20-10 early in the fourth quarter and lost.

Brady, of course, has never been the most mobile quarterback. And that's certainly true now that he's 40 years old.

So what about getting pressure on him, especially from a defensive line as acclaimed as the Eagles'? Even Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Fletcher Cox one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.

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"What makes him so unique is he gets rid of the ball fast," Cox said. "He’s not going to take a lot of hits. He knows where’ he’s going when the ball is snapped. As I say every week, it’s going to come down to the front four guys getting after the quarterback and making him uncomfortable in the pocket."

Easier said than done. 

Jenkins, for example, keeps a notebook on every opponent. He was asked what he has on the Patriots. Jenkins said he wouldn't go into detail, but then he did, sort of.

"The obvious things that the Patriots do, probably better than anybody, is they create matchups that they want," Jenkins said. "They get creative with their personnel, their formations, and they’ll spread you out to take advantage of a wide receiver on a linebacker, a tight end on a backer that they don’t like.

"Brady is one of those quarterbacks that you’ve got to continuously be able to adjust to. They’ll go back at halftime and make the proper adjustments. They’ll do it mid-drive, mid-quarter, so you’ve always gotta be on your p’s and q’s, be able to adjust.

"So everything that my book might say going into a game, three drives in you’ve got to throw it out because they’ve all been changed. So we’ve got to have that flexibility on defense."

It would seem, then, that the formula for beating Brady and the Patriots goes something like this: Score at least one touchdown on defense and special teams; get pressure on Brady and force him into turnovers, which rarely happens; get a sizeable lead; then hang on for dear life.

If that doesn't work, the Eagles can use Alshon Jeffery's suggestion and treat the Patriots as just another opponent.

"I don’t care who we’re playing," he said. "It’s a faceless opponent, no matter whose jersey it is. They put on their pads just like us. I don’t care who it is, Tom Brady, or anybody." 

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.