For Patriots LB Matt Judon, Facing Tom Brady is “Just One Week.”

As the New England Patriots prepare to welcome the defending Super-Bowl Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, an aura of nostalgia has settled over Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Memories of Tom Brady hoisting Lombardi-Trophy silver has been dancing in the minds of Patriots fans and media alike as the Patriots’ ‘prodigal son’ returns to the house his success helped build for the first time since leaving via free agency in March 2020.

Along with the outpouring of reminiscing from those who will not be taking the field on Sunday night, many of Brady’s former coaches and teammates have waxed poetically about the impact which the seven-time Super Bowl Champion had upon their lives. From head coach Bill Belichick to team captains Matthew Slater to Devin McCourty, each has offered complimentary thoughts and fond memories on Brady.

However for many players on the 2021 Patriots roster, it’s business as usual. Tom Brady is this week’s opposing quarterback. For things on the defensive side of the ball, stopping him is their primary focus.

Count former Baltimore Ravens’ and current Patriots’ linebacker Matt Judon among them.

As a former member of the Ravens, Judon is well-versed in preparing for facing a Brady-led offense. The two franchises are no stranger to each other, with several hotly-contested regular-season and playoff battles. When last the two saw each other, Judon put four quarterback hits on Brady in a 37-20 Ravens victory in Baltimore during the 2019 season; the quarterback’s last with the Patriots.

Despite the hoopla surrounding Brady’s return, Judson is approaching this week with a ‘business as usual’ mentality. He has put pressure on Brady before, and hopes to do so again on Sunday night.

“Beating blocks, honestly. It’s just beating blocks,” Judon said when asked on Thursday about how Brady might be slowed in Week Four. “It’s not like he’s got a bubble around him.”

Make no mistake about it; Judon has an enormous amount of respect for the 44-year-old Bucs quarterback. Still, he realizes that he and his teammates must prepare for Brady as an opponent, and not a returning former-teammate.

“He’s the next quarterback we’ve gotta play. They’ve also got two other quarterbacks on the roster. I know he was in this building for a long time, and what he’s done can never be taken away from the game of football. But it’s not like we’re afraid of what Tom Brady can do. We have to stop their whole offense... Tom Brady is a great quarterback and nobody can take away what he did, but we’re not here to talk about that right now. We have to play the game. We have to stop him from winning a football game.”

In that regard, Judon’s approach to Sunday’s highly-anticipated game may be quite refreshing for Patriots fans, and even the Brady loyalists that will align with the Bucs. Once the time for the talk has ended, the action on the field will determine the fate of the evening. For Judon, and those thinking like him, it will be ‘just another week’ of work.

“I don’t know,” Judon said with a slight laugh. “I always just played against the guy. It’s always been one week for me. Y’all have been here. Y’all have spoken to the guy and gave him his flowers and everything he’s done for the game and this city and this organization…But since I’ve been in the league, it’s only been one week for me. It’s always been, ‘Alright, we have to play the New England Patriots, and this is what Brady does well, and this is how we have to defend him.’ So this week it’s the same. I’m just in a different uniform and he’s in a different uniform.”

The Patriots welcome the defending Super Bowl Champions to Foxboro, Massachusetts on Sunday, as they will take on the Bucs from Gillette Stadium at 8:20pm ET on Sunday, October 3rd.