New England Patriots

Mac Jones couldn't lead the New England Patriots to an upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, but he did get some advice from a legend after the game.

"[Tom Brady] just told me to keep my head up and keep working," Jones said, per Nick Goss of NBC Sports.

Jones also said he got a chance to congratulate Brady on the 19-17 win.

The Week 4 game at Foxborough was a must-see matchup, with Brady returning to the place where he spent the first 20 years of his career. Brady got the win, but Jones still impressed with 275 passing yards and two touchdowns with one pick on 31-of-40 passing.

The rookie led the Patriots down the field for a potential go-ahead field goal in the final minute, but Nick Folk missed the 56-yard attempt in the rain.

Though New England is just 1-3 to begin the year, Jones has provided a reason for optimism. 

Tom Brady's social media game has been on point this week in anticipation of his return to Foxborough against the New England Patriots. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star posted one final hype video on Twitter mere hours before he steps on the field at Gillette Stadium as a visiting player for the first time:

Sunday's matchup between the Bucs and Patriots is arguably the most anticipated regular-season game in NFL history. 

The closest recent comparison was Peyton Manning's return to Indianapolis as a member of the Denver Broncos in October 2013. Manning's 13-year run with the Colts was instrumental in turning the franchise around, including helping to get Lucas Oil Stadium built. 

Brady's return is very different, though, because the Colts had a clear succession plan at quarterback in place with Andrew Luck. The Patriots lost Tom Brady in free agency and have been trying to figure out the position for the past year. 

Mac Jones is a promising rookie, but he still has a lot to prove. 

The Patriots became the best franchise in the NFL almost as soon as Brady stepped in at quarterback when Drew Bledsoe was injured in Week 2 of the 2001 season. He led them to six Super Bowl titles, nine AFC championships and 17 division titles. 

Brady will lead the Buccaneers in their game against the Patriots starting at 8:15 p.m. ET. 

The New England Patriots will "briefly acknowledge" Tom Brady's accomplishment if he sets the all-time passing yards record Sunday night against them, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is 68 yards shy of breaking Drew Brees' record of 80,358 career passing yards.

Per Schefter, the Patriots will pause the game to recognize the feat, but they won't completely stop the action for a ceremony.

Sunday night's matchup represents Brady's first game against the Patriots since leaving for the Buccaneers in 2020 free agency. He spent the first 20 years of his career in New England, with 74,571 of his passing yards coming with his first team.

Though some fans might still be angry about Brady leaving in free agency, the Patriots reportedly plan to have some tribute for him upon his return to Foxborough, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

After all, it's difficult to completely ignore the quarterback who led the team to six Super Bowl titles.

However, the organization doesn't plan to mirror the hoopla following Brees' record-breaking moment in 2018. The Saints star passed the record originally set by Peyton Manning with a touchdown pass in a Monday Night Football game in front of his home crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The NFL stopped the game, allowing Brees to celebrate with his wife and kids on the field.

Brees and Brady spent the past few years separating themselves from the rest of the field in the record books and are each well ahead of Manning's prior mark of 71,940. Brady (591) and Brees (571) are also comfortably ahead of Manning's old touchdown record of 539.

With Brees retiring last offseason, Brady can now pull away from Brees for good in each category. The 44-year-old is averaging 362.3 passing yards per game this season and currently leads the NFL with 10 touchdown passes.   

Julian Edelman, Tom Brady's former teammate with the New England Patriots, stated the obvious Friday, saying the legendary quarterback's ultra competitiveness will push him to make a major statement in his return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.

Edelman explained on The Ringer's Ryen Russillo Podcast the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller would love to light up the scoreboard against head coach Bill Belichick and the Pats:

While Brady has sidestepped most of the questions this week about his departure from New England and rumors of discontent with Belichick during his final years with the franchise, he made it clear Thursday the goal is to have a dominant showing Sunday:

Among the Brady-Belichick talk this week were excerpts from an upcoming book, It's Better to Be Feared by ESPN's Seth Wickersham, who reported the longtime Patriots quarterback informed people around him as early as 2017 he didn't "want to play for Bill anymore."

Neither one of them has been willing to play into the rivalry narrative heading into the game, however, with Belichick saying Friday that Brady was still his preferred QB.

"We've talked about that for two decades," he told reporters. "I think I've been on the record dozens of time saying there's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady. I still feel that way. I was very lucky to have Tom as the quarterback and to coach him. He was as good as any coach could ever ask for."

While they're not adding to the storylines about the high-profile breakup, it's continuing the build without their help. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Patriots-Buccaneers game ends up being the highest-rated game of the 2021 regular season.

Brady posted a hype video Saturday focusing on his journey from the NFL draft through the New England years and now in Tampa Bay:

Kickoff for the marquee matchup of Week 4 is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC.

Ahead of his first-ever game against Tom Brady, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Friday credited Brady with being integral to his success in New England.

When asked by a reporter if he would have experienced the same level of success as Patriots head coach without Brady, Belichick responded, "Of course not."

Belichick also said there is "no quarterback I would rather have" than Brady and called himself "very lucky" to have coached Brady for two decades.

Brady, who left the Pats to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason, will lead the Bucs into Foxborough for a clash with the Patriots on Sunday night.

Leaving the only franchise he had ever played for was a leap of faith on Brady's part, but it undoubtedly worked to perfection, as Brady and the Bucs beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP, adding to the six Super Bowls and four Super Bowl MVP awards he won in New England.

While Belichick and Brady were in the midst of winning six Super Bowls together, a hot topic of conversation often related to who was more responsible for the Patriots' success.

The scales now seem heavily tipped in Brady's favor, since he won a Super Bowl with the Bucs last season, while the Pats went 7-9 and missed the playoffs.

Also, Tampa is off to a 2-1 start this season, while New England is 1-2 and in significant danger of falling out of realistic playoff contention with a loss to Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday night.

Late in Brady's tenure with the Patriots and since the time he left the franchise, much has been made of his relationship with Belichick as well.

In a new book written by ESPN's Seth Wickersham entitled "It's Better to Be Feared," the Brady-Belichick dynamic is explored, as are the reasons for Brady leaving the Patriots.

Wickersham notes in the book that Brady wanted to go somewhere that gave him more input and also wanted to see "if there was another way of winning."

It was also written in the book that Brady told those close to him as early as in 2017 that he no longer wanted to play for Belichick.

For his part, Brady has had nothing but good things to say about Belichick and the Patriots publicly, especially this week when he told reporters his split with the organization was handled "perfectly" and that he had a "great relationship" with Belichick and the Pats.

As if Brady returning to New England wasn't a juicy enough storyline, it is also likely he will break Drew Brees' career passing yardage record in the game since he is only 68 yards away.

Buccaneers vs. Patriots and Brady vs. Belichick is one of the most highly anticipated regular-season games in quite some time, and regardless of the result, there will be no shortage of talking points coming out of it.

If you haven't heard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will be facing his former team on Sunday night for the first time since he left the New England Patriots in 2020, and the matchup is getting just a touch of hype this week. 

So naturally, Brady was asked about his quarterback counterpart, rookie Mac Jones. And naturally, Brady—amid his preparation for the New England defense—revealed he hasn't exactly been breaking down Jones' film this year:

"I haven't seen him much at all," Brady said. 

Jones, after all, has only played three NFL games. And despite the obvious media narrative of the Patriots quarterback of the past—who will assuredly break the all-time passing yards record on Sunday—facing the Patriots quarterback of the future, Brady and Jones will never actually be on the field together, save for the postgame handshake.  

Matt Judon, on the other hand, will be on the field to face Brady, and the linebacker sure wasn't thrilled with all the Brady questions he was asked during his press conference:

Brady was also asked about his divorce from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, though he avoided getting into any details about his departure from the Patriots organization.

"All those things are super personal," he told reporters. "We had a great relationship. I think everything was handled the right way. We handled everything as gracefully as we could. It was an amazing time. It was handled perfectly. I think everyone understood where we were at, the people involved in the situation. Things worked out for the best for all of us, and we're all trying to do the best we can do now."

Obviously people will want to know why a 20-year football relationship came to a close, or if there is any extra motivation for Brady to get one over on his former coach and team. And maybe, deep down, there is. 

But it's also a regular-season game in early October. All parties are going to treat it as such. Brady already proved what he could do without Belichick, winning a Super Bowl title last season.

For Brady and the Bucs, Sunday night is about getting to 3-1. For Jones and the Pats, it's about getting to 2-2. 

If you haven't purchased tickets for Tom Brady's return to Gillette Stadium, then you might want to plan on having a nice night in Sunday.

According to TMZ Sports, tickets for the Week 4 contest between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots are averaging $1,222 on StubHub. That figure is 20 percent higher than the next closest game this season.

It's obviously a big occasion as Brady plays the franchise with which he won six Super Bowls over 20 seasons. But the future Hall of Famer is doing his best to treat it like any other game.

"I'm not going to necessarily reminisce," he said on his Let's Go! podcast with Jim Gray (via Jenna Laine of ESPN). "I don't think this is the moment for that. I'll have plenty opportunities to reminisce about my football career—none of it, none of which I really care to do right now because I'm so much in the moment."

Brady added that he doesn't expect his status as a franchise legend to stop Patriots fans from rooting against him when the action begins.

New England Patriots running back James White is expected to be out for the remainder of the 2021 season with a hip injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates.

The 29-year-old went down during Sunday's 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The third-down specialist spent his first eight seasons with the Patriots and is set to be a free agent after the 2021 campaign.

The Patriots will likely continue to use a running back by committee in pass-catching situations, with Brandon Bolden taking most of the White snaps. Damian Harris will also see significant snaps as the team's primary between-the-tackles runner.

White had rushed 10 times for 38 yards and a score this season, adding 12 catches for 94 yards.

ESPN's Mike Reiss reported Tuesday that the Patriots worked out four running backs this week—Ryquell Armstead, Dontrell Hilliard, Artavis Pierce and Ito Smith.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said quarterback Tom Brady is running the same offense with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he did across 20 years with the Pats.

"100 percent," Belichick told reporters Wednesday. "You could call almost every play from the flare control to the protection, similar to the way we do it."

The comments come as Brady prepares to return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night for the first time since leaving the Patriots in free agency to sign with the Bucs in March 2020.

In typical Belichick fashion, the future Hall of Fame coach also downplayed rumors of discontent between himself and Brady during their final years together.

"I think it's good," he said about his relationship with the superstar QB. "It's always been good."

Brady's return to face the franchise he helped lead to six Super Bowl titles has predictably generated plenty of attention heading into Week 4 of the NFL season, and the dynamics of his relationship with Belichick have garnered particular interest.

Alex Guerrero, the signal-caller's personal trainer, told Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald last week the Patriots coach "never evolved with age" and continued to treat Brady the same throughout their entire time together.

"He's older, so he should be treated differently," Guerrero said of Brady. "And all the players, none of them would have cared that he was treated differently. I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So you can't treat someone who's in his 40s like they're 20. It doesn't work."

Meanwhile, ESPN's Seth Wickersham provided excerpts from his upcoming book, It's Better to Be Feared, which explores the Brady-Belichick era Patriots, and one section noted the quarterback told friends as early as 2017 he didn't "want to play for Bill anymore."

Their eroding relationship also caused issues between Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft, who referred to his team's coach as the "biggest f--king assh--e in my life" in a 2018 conversation with friends, per Wickersham.

It didn't take Brady long to find success after leaving New England as he guided the Bucs to a Super Bowl title during his first year with the organization.

A lot of the offensive concepts Tampa Bay used throughout its run to the championship were similar to those used by the 44-year-old University of Michigan product with the Pats. The Bucs merely had far better position players around him to make it effective, which is why his numbers have returned to their previous MVP level after a lull late in his Patriots tenure.

One thing Brady and Belichick shared during their 20 years together was a laser focus on winning that week's game, and it's something that won't change heading into Sunday despite the increased outside interest, especially since both sides are coming off Week 3 losses.

The intriguing aspect based on the 69-year-old coach's comments Wednesday is whether he can dial up any defensive calls to confuse Brady since it sounds like the Patriots should have a pretty good idea about what's coming from the Bucs offense in this marquee primetime matchup.

Kickoff for NBC's Sunday Night Football at Gillette Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET.