With Tom Brady coming to town, Foles reflects on Super Bowl 52 victory with Eagles
Bears quarterback Nick Foles has plenty of praise for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
"He's one of the greatest of all-time at the quarterback position," Foles said. "We've played against each other really just one time."
Of course, Foles has bragging rights.
That "one time" Nick Foles and Tom Brady stepped onto the same field, Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles beat Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52 in February 2018.
The two will meet again in prime time Thursday at Soldier Field. Both will be wearing different uniforms than the last time they met.
Foles doesn't think much about squaring off with Brady when he looks back on that Super Bowl victory. He said the No. 1 thing he thinks about is celebrating with his daughter Lily as confetti fell. He also thinks of his teammates.
"It's not about the game," Foles said. "It's about the people you do it with and the hard journey you go on, the ups and downs. When you win, everything is great. When you lose, it's all criticism. You, finally at the end of the journey, get to sit there with all the people you went through it with and have that moment. That's what I talk about when I say the locker room and building relationships. If you're ever blessed enough to win a Super Bowl or do anything, you'll realize it's not even about the trophy."
If anyone knows this well, it's Brady. The six-time Super Bowl champion is trying to win one for the first time with a new team.
The Bears and Bucs are 3-1, but the records feel different. The Bears benched quarterback Mitch Trubisky and made two miraculous comebacks.
The Bucs are scoring points in bunches, although their defense has struggled against the pass. Brady led the Bucs to a 17-point comeback Sunday against the LA Chargers.
"What you see is a guy who knows the game inside out," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "He attacks you down field. There's never any panic. I mean, he gets behind 17 points or 20 points, it doesn't matter. You're always in the game with him."
Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano thinks the marriage between Brady and coach Bruce Arians' system has been good for both.
In 2012, Arians stepped in for Pagano as interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts when Pagano took time away to battle leukemia.
"He looks the same," Pagano said of Brady. "He looks as good as ever. I think they've blended (Arians') system with some things, obviously, that Tom's real comfortable with. You can see both systems coming together."
Brady can still throw it with the best of them, and the Bucs have protected him well in the pocket. Defenses are having a hard time getting to Brady.
"It's hard to get to him because the game is extremely slow to him," Nagy said. "He's one of the best if not the best to play the game at that position. I think Tampa is certainly feeling that right now and understanding how great of a player and person he is."