“Respect what Tom Brady did in the past, but it’s a whole new year”: Aaron Donald doesn’t care about Bucs QB’s 7 rings and past accolades ahead of electric divisional round matchup

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are all set to take on the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, and Aarom Donald already has a warning for him.

Both the Buccaneers and Rams had an easy time in the Wild Card round, picking off the Eagles and Cardinals, respectively, with ease. Tampa Bay rolled to a 31-15 victory against Philly, a score that’s much closer than the actual game was, behind a dominant defensive effort and a consistent offensive performance. The Bucs picked off Jalen Hurts twice and Brady threw two touchdowns.

In LA, it was more of the same. The Rams forced Kyler Murray into two interceptions and Matthew Stafford had an easy day on offense, throwing two touchdowns.

Now, both these teams will face each other in a rematch of the regular season contest. That game was played at LA, and the Rams won 34-24 behind Stafford’s four touchdowns and a defense that harassed Brady all day long.

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Aaron Donald has a stern message for Tom Brady before Divisional Round game

The Rams defense is going to look to replicate their performance from week 3 once more as they take on Brady in the playoffs. While Brady did throw for 432 yards in that game, he took 55 passes to get there, an average of 7.85 yards per attempt. Nothing came easy for him.

LA sacked Brady three times in that game as well and hit him five times, keeping the pressure on throughout the game. Everyone knows that the key to beating Brady is rushing him and throwing him off his quick-attack passing game, and LA will rely on its dominant defensive front to that.

Of course, that unit is led by none other than Aaron Donald, the three time Defensive Player of the Year winner. While the Rams victory back in week 3 was impressive, the Bucs are still favored in this game, and Tom Brady’s success in the postseason has to be the biggest reason for that.

However, Aaron Donald doesn’t care about what Brady’s done in the past. All he wants to focus on is what’s happening now. “It’s a new year. Respect what he did in the past, but it’s a whole new year,” Donald told the LA Times.

If that’s a warning for Brady, then Donald should fear for his life a little as Brady makes sure to do all his talking with his play, always playing like he has a chip on his shoulder. You don’t want to make that chip bigger. Matthew Stafford also spoke up on going against Brady, detailing how while he won’t directly face the Bucs QB, his play will still be important.

“I’m not playing against him, you know one-on-one, but I understand that he’s a great player and he’s going to get his team in the end zone so I’ve got to do my part as well,” Stafford explained.

This matchup will be electric, and now it’s just a matter of waiting.

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