There have been a lot of overhyped moments in the NFL in recent years. The presence of ESPN and the generally shouty nature of NFL commentary these days assures that there will always be the next “best in the history of” moment coming down the road soon.

But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the propaganda machine as at work as it has been the last week or so for Tom Brady’s return to Foxborough, MS as Tampa Bay prepares to take on New England and his former coach, Bill Belichick.

I’ve read that Belichick’s legacy is at stake – if Brady not only wins last year’s Super Bowl but also beats his former coach in his former home stadium that it tarnishes what the coach accomplished over the last two decades.

I’ve read, in the Athletic – which I think does pretty good sports journalism, for the most part – that this is “one of the biggest regular season games in NFL history.” Or the biggest.

Really?

Sure, I get that it’s a compelling story line. Brady spent 20 years playing for Belichick, 19 as his starting QB, winning six Super Bowls and playing in nine. Together, they rewrote the record books and established a new definition for dynasties in pro sports.

It’ll be an exciting moment and there are countless storylines relating to the game. But the biggest regular season game in league history? It’s not even the prime-time game I’m most looking forward to watching this weekend.

What I see here is a 2-1 Tampa Bay team trying to get back on track a week after getting trucked by the LA Rams as it attempts defends last year’s Super Bowl crown against a 1-2 New England team with a rookie QB that, frankly, just isn’t very good. If the Bucs win this weekend, it’ll mean the better team, the team that should win this game, did what most Brady-led teams do – win when they should. If the Patriots pull the upset, it’ll mean that one of the greatest defensive minds to ever strategize defensive strategies came up big and put together a plan to beat his former protégé.

Nothing more, nothing less. The quality of the teams dictates that.  The NFL is cyclical and, yep, even the great Belichick eventually falls victim to it. The difference is, for most teams, up runs last four, five, six years. For the Patriots, largely on the strength of these two guys, it lasted two full decades.

So, spare me that this game will determine or negatively impact in any way Belichick’s legacy. He started cementing that in January 1991, perhaps ironically, in Tampa Stadium, where Buffalo was a touchdown favorite in the Super Bowl against the 15-3 New York Giants, who entered the game with a backup quarterback in Jeff Hostetler. Belichick and Bill Parcells designed a plan that led to one of the big game’s greatest all-time upsets.

And he’s won six more as a head coach since. And, yes, Brady went off to another team and won one – with Bruce Arians, a very good to great coach in his own right, who was smart enough last mid-season to reportedly sit down with Brady and say something to the effect of “this doesn’t seem to be working as well as I think it could, how can we better tailor this offense to what you like to do best?”

In 20 years, as Brady is preparing for his Hall of Fame induction after retiring at the age of roughly 63, he’ll visit the then-aging Belichick and they’ll probably laugh about the hype this game got as they remember the time they spent together, each establishing himself as clearly one of the best – quite possibly THE best – to ever do their respective jobs.

 

That’s not to say I won’t watch. It’s important in the scheme of the NFL because every game is important. And there is definitely some theater involved in this game. But as far as the best – and most important – prime-time game being played this weekend, has anyone noticed that the undefeated Raiders and the 2-1 Chargers renew a long-standing rivalry on Monday night? Sure, Derek Carr and Justin Herbert haven’t quite reached the level of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but this should be a helluva game and it carries with it postseason ramifications in the league’s strongest division so far, the AFC West. That’s the can’t-miss game I want to watch this weekend.

Note: Photo credit – Mark Sardella, via Flickr