Tom Brady lit up NFL defenses over the course of his 23-year playing career still holds many of the NFL’s all-time passing records. Brady isn’t expecting a similar aerial attack in his first game in the broadcasting booth, though.
As the legendary quarterback prepares to call Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns game on FOX Sports’ “America’s Game of the Week” (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), Brady shared on “The Herd” that he’s bracing for the defenses to shine in the season-opening matchup.
“I think it’s a defensive game,” he told Colin Cowherd on Tuesday. “I think you got two great defenses. Coach [Mike] Zimmer is a huge addition to that Dallas defense. They’ve got a lot of the same players coming back on Dallas’s defense. Cleveland does as well.
“Both offenses, they’re not quite the run games they’ve had in the past due to some injuries. They’ve had some offensive line shuffling going around on both teams.
Both Dallas and Cleveland had performances from their defenses in the 2023 season that played big roles in those respective teams reaching the playoffs. The Cowboys ranked fifth in yards allowed (299.7 per game) and in scoring (18.5 points allowed per game), though that was with Dan Quinn running the defense. As Brady mentioned, they hired Zimmer to replace Quinn after the latter left to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders in the offseason.
Still, the Cowboys’ defense is still expected to play at a high level. Outside linebacker Micah Parsons is arguably the best non-quarterback player in football and is the betting favorite for Defensive Player of the Year after recording 14 sacks last season. They also return standout defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and welcome back cornerback Trevon Diggs, who tore his ACL last September and missed much of the season after recording 14 interceptions in the previous two seasons.
“I want to see him play,” Brady said of Diggs.
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But as Brady also mentioned, both teams’ running back rooms aren’t in great shape. The Cowboys didn’t make any major investments after letting Tony Pollard walk, bringing back Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year deal. The Browns are still awaiting Nick Chubb to return after his severe knee injury from last season.
So, Brady thinks the passing game for each team will open up “a little bit” as a result, though he isn’t positive they’ll be quite effective.
“I don’t know if those passing games are quite in mid-season form yet,” Brady said. “CeeDee [Lamb] wasn’t in camp. Dak [Prescott] didn’t have a lot of looks at that. Again, some of these passing games may take a little time to develop.
“So, I think it’s going to be a very good defensive game – two great coordinators, couple of the best defensive lines and pass rushers in the NFL. I don’t think it’s a 3-0 game, but I don’t think it’s a high-flying, scoring all over the place game, either.”
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Prescott is coming off the best season of his career, throwing for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns to finish second in the MVP vote. Despite that, much of the offseason discussion surrounding Prescott has been focused on his contract status as he enters the final year of his deal.
Prescott was one of a handful of core members of the Cowboys’ organization who were seeking an extension or are entering the final year of their respective deals. So far, only Lamb’s contract situation has been resolved, with Prescott, Parsons and head coach Mike McCarthy still dealing with uncertain futures.
As McCarthy was able to keep his job after a disappointing playoff loss, Brady commended the Cowboys’ head coach for how he’s handled the drama in Dallas this offseason.
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“I think [in] Coach McCarthy, they have a great leader,” Brady said. “Coach McCarthy really preaches, ‘Hey, we want to stay focused day after day. We want to eliminate the distractions,’ and they’ve had quite a few of this offseason. But every team does, and I feel like Dallas handled it very well.”
Now, it’s time for the Cowboys to push all the drama aside and suit up to hit the gridiron. It’s also time for Brady to finally suit up as a broadcaster, and he couldn’t be more excited.
“It’s a great opening game,” Brady said. “This is what it’s all about.”