Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are two of the best—if not the best—of their generation. And while they didn’t face each other often, with Brady’s Patriots in the AFC and Rodgers’ Packers in the NFC, the two actually have a lot in common.
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Both were Northern California kids, with Rodgers hailing from Chico and Brady from San Mateo. That meant they were both big 49ers and Joe Montana fans growing up. Both slipped in the draft further than they expected, which gave them a chip on their shoulder.
The two QBs also sat behind a franchise legend before taking the reins of their team. And, it turns out, they were both scared of the same massive defensive tackle.
When asked at an event recently which player he feared most during his two-decade NFL career, Rodgers said it was Ndamukong Suh. Specifically, during his time with the Detroit Lions, Suh struck the most fear in his divisional rival QB.
“Most feared player? I wouldn’t say feared, because it’s hard to admit you’re scared of somebody. However, any time we played the Lions, when Ndamukong Suh was on the field. Earmuffs, yeah, you had to watch out. One of the dirtiest players in the history of the league,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers played the big man twice a year in the Motor City from 2010 to 2014. And they got very familiar with each other very fast. He sacked the former Packer in their first-ever meeting in 2010, and he got him a total of 2.5 times during his stay in Detroit. There was also the whole Suh stomping on Rodgers’ calf during a matchup in 2014. So, Rodgers seems fair in viewing the former DT as a little bit dirty.
But Suh didn’t stay with the Lions for his whole career. He went up against Rodgers and the Packers again in 2020 as a member of Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, earning himself one final sack on Green Bay’s No. 12.
And it turns out Brady recruited Suh, who measures a mammoth 6’4″ and 315 pounds, to Tampa Bay’s 2020 Super Bowl-winning team because he, like Rodgers, had a healthy fear of the man. And let’s not forget: Suh was the one voted the dirtiest player in the league in 2012.
Naturally, even Brady listed Suh among the players from whom he most feared taking a hit.
“A lot of guys. Ray Lewis was at the top. Ndamukong Suh—I didn’t like getting hit by him. J.J. Watt wasn’t very fun to get hit by. Haloti Ngata. Remember him? He was about 340 pounds, played for the Ravens. He was massive. So, yeah. That’s not fun.”
Ndamukong Suh was definitely feared — for both the right and wrong reasons — which led to a career that some would call Hall of Fame-adjacent. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year, a three-time First-Team All-Pro, a two-time Second-Team All-Pro, and a five-time Pro Bowler.
His 71.5 sacks are impressive for a defensive tackle like him. And he ended up capping his career off with a Super Bowl ring. Behind Aaron Donald and Kevin Williams, Suh’s 84.58 HOF Monitor score on Pro Football Reference is the highest among DTs not already in the Hall of Fame. Who knows, maybe Suh will be jump-scaring Brady and Rodgers on stage in Canton in a few years.
