Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Tom Brady will return to face Bill Belichick and the Patriots in an early-season primetime clash that promises to be a ratings monster.
It is the game all NFL fans were waiting to circle on the calendar, and now we know when Tom Brady will make his return to New England to face the Patriots for the first time since his infamous departure after the 2021 schedule was released.
The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Foxborough to take on Bill Belichick and the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.
That the clash of Brady versus Belichick is being aired on what has become the league’s premier primetime slot is of absolutely no surprise, with a contest between the quarterback and coach that have dominated the modern-day game sure to capture the imagination of the entire league.
Tom Brady vs Bill Belichick is a must-see game
For many, the outcome of this game may help settle the Brady vs. Belichick debate, though some may feel that was decided when Tampa Bay crushed the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV as Brady sealed his seventh Lombardi Trophy without the benefit of Belichick’s coaching.
A stacked Buccaneers team will be expected to have the edge in this clash, but the prospect of Belichick using his in-depth knowledge of Brady to game plan against him is an extremely enticing one.
Another layer to this game of the season candidate is the potential quarterback matchup. If Mac Jones beats out Cam Newton and wins the starting quarterback job in New England as a rookie, then this will be a meeting of Jones and the man so many compared him to during the pre-draft process.
This is a game absolutely swimming with storylines and NFL fans get to be treated to it early in the second month of the season. Brady has proven he can do it without Belichick, the game that will show whether he can do it against him promises to be a ratings monster.