Tom Brady didn’t have too many truly devastating losses in his legendary 23-year NFL career. The Philadelphia Eagles are responsible for one of the biggest — and will try to make it two on Sept. 10.
The Eagles are set to visit the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, a source tells Pro Football Network. In a striking bit of irony, it’s the same day the Patriots plan to honor Brady for his two decades of unmatched excellence in New England.
New England Patriots Host Philadelphia Eagles on Tom Brady Day
Brady had just three losses in his NFL record 10 Super Bowl appearances.
Two of those losses were to the Giants.
The third, in Super Bowl 52, came against the Eagles (a team that Brady also beat in the Super Bowl, more than a decade prior).
And it wasn’t just that the Patriots lost to what the betting public thought was an inferior Eagles team (New England was favored by 5.5 points) that made it so hard to swallow.
What really made it sting was how the Patriots lost.
Down the stretch, backup QB Nick Foles out-clutched Mr. Clutch himself.
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Foles was 28 of 43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He was also on the receiving end of the Philly Special, a play that is now part of the legend in Southeast Pennsylvania.
Brady, meanwhile, passed for an outrageous 505 yards in Super Bowl 52 but had a couple of missed opportunities that were the difference in the game. One was a strip sack on the Patriots’ penultimate possession that led to an Eagles field goal.
The other? A trick play of the Patriots’ own, in which Brady couldn’t pull in a pass from Danny Amendola.
“I get reminded of that play,” Brady said on his “Let’s Go” podcast in January 2022. “Every time I see an Eagles fan, I get reminded of that play.”
When these teams meet again in Foxboro in four months, the expectations for each will be considerably different.
Philadelphia brings back the core of the group that was one stop away from winning the Super Bowl in February. New England, meanwhile, is picked to finish last in the four-team AFC East.
But strange things happen on tribute day. Perhaps the emotional lift of Brady’s presence — not to mention a desire for payback — will provide yet another surprise.