Brady urges Aaron Rodgers to crush the Packers in Week 8 clash

Tom Brady said players should channel strong emotion when they face their former teams, urging Aaron Rodgers to seek a decisive win when the Pittsburgh Steelers meet the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Speaking during a national pregame broadcast, Brady drew on his own experience returning to Gillette Stadium as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, saying a competitive, uncompromising mindset is appropriate when confronting a former organization.

"If I'm A-Rod, I want to crush the Packers. I want to make that really clear," Brady said. He added, in a remark he framed playfully, "Don't tell this to Mr. Robert Kraft, but I wanted to beat the Patriots by 100 when I was with the Bucs." Brady recalled the Oct. 3, 2021 game in Foxborough, which Tampa Bay won 19-17; he completed 22 of 43 passes for 269 yards and no touchdowns. That victory also made him one of a small group of quarterbacks to have beaten all 32 NFL teams as a starter, a distinction Rodgers could join if he defeats Green Bay.

Brady offered the comments as part of his wider role as a football analyst, a position from which he also released his weekly power rankings. For Week 8 he elevated the Indianapolis Colts to...