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Mac Jones was learning to speak when Tom Brady was drafted. Twenty-one years later, the rookie quarterback is in the NFL, taking on the greatest to ever do it.
Many believe that the prospect of filling Tom Brady's shoes is one of the most intense jobs in the sport. Jones will be compared to Brady quite often going forward, using this game as a backdrop for many years to come.
Ahead of their much awaited showdown, the rookie quarterback spoke to the media on the pressure of the moment.
Mac Jones on pressure of taking on Tom Brady
According to Yahoo Sports, Jones isn't looking at this as a comparison game. He also doesn't see this as a tete-a-tete or a mano-e-mano affair.
Football is a team sport and both quarterbacks have 21 other guys that will play a factor in how the game goes.
"It's not like one person versus one person, so I think that a lot of it is 11 on 11, and that's what goes into it, and that's how they're going to look at it," Jones said. "That's how every team looks at it. It's just you're getting a chance to compete in a primetime game, and it just kind of is what it is."
"I think it just goes back to really with pressure, you just got to focus on doing what you're supposed do, and people who have jobs in high pressure situations, that's what they do," Jones said.
"They do their job really well, and they prepare really hard, so it's all you can control, and once the hay is in the barn, the hay is in the barn, and you just got to go play, and I think everyone will be excited, and we're just going to be ready to play when it happens."
Jones is going to be solely focused on what he needs to do to eke out a win this week. He will be preparing and focusing on the fundamentals in an effort to avoid thinking about the stakes. Jones' head will be down, thinking about the task at hand and nothing more.
Lastly, Jones said he has watched a lot of college football and NFL games over the years and learned from everyone he watched.
Meaning, he's learned from Tom Brady in addition to Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, and others. Jones and Brady face off on Sunday Night Football this weekend on NBC.
