BOSTON — This year's pair of Super Bowl quarterbacks have taken drastically different routes to Atlanta, despite a number of similar attributes and the same origin city.
On February 3, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will square off against Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedez-Benz Stadium.
Both grew up in the greater San Francisco area, both stand 6 feet, 4 inches tall -- both weigh around 220 -- and both have unusual dietary restrictions.
Here's a head-to-head comparison of the two starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl LIII.
| Tom Brady | Jared Goff |
|---|---|
| Aug. 3, 1977 | October 14, 1994 |
| San Mateo, California | Novato, California |
| 6 feet, 4 inches tall | 6 feet, 4 inches tall |
| 225 pounds | 222 pounds |
| No. 12 | No. 16 |
| Michigan | Cal |
| Considred the Greatest of All Time | 1st true freshman to start season opener at Cal |
Drafts
Tom Brady was famously drafted 199th in the 2000 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, while Jared Goff was famously the first pick in the 2016 NFL draft. Perhaps scouts saw some similarities between Goff's promise and Brady's unheralded status in 2000 -- but not likely.
Brady's combine performance is notably unremarkable for being what many consider to be the best quarterback in the history of football. Brady turned in a 5.2 40-yard dash, while Goff clocked a 4.8 40-yard dash. In fact, all of Brady's stats at the combine are overshadowed by Goff's.
You can also watch their draft highlights at the bottom of the page.
| Tom Brady | Jared Goff |
|---|---|
| Sixth Round, 199th pick | First Round, 1st pick |
| 5.24-second 40-yard dash | 4.82-second 40-yard dash |
| 33 Wonderlic score | 36 Wonderlic score |
| 8-feet, 3-inch broad jump | 9-foot, 2-inch broad jump |
| 24 1/5-inch vertical jump | 27-inch vertical jump |
| Weighed in at 211 pounds | Weighed in a 215 pounds |
Careers
We all know the rest of Tom Brady's story. He stepped in for an injured Drew Bledsoe and never looked back. It's honestly quite difficult to compare anyone's career to Tom Brady's -- much less one of a virtual rookie compared to the G.O.A.T. -- but we're here to compare because there's little else to do in the week leading up to Super Bowl LIII.
| Tom Brady | Jared Goff |
|---|---|
| First career start: Sept. 30, 2001 | First career start: Nov. 15, 2016 |
| Has played 19 seasons in the NFL | Has played 3 seasons in the NFL |
| 14 Pro Bowls | 2 Pro Bowls |
| NFL records: 5 | NFL records: 0 |
| 70,514 career passing yards | 9,581 career passing yards |
| 1,003 career rushing yards | 175 career rushing yards |
| 19 rushing touchdowns | 4 rushing touchdowns |
| 517 passing touchdowns | 65 passing touchdowns |
While Tom Brady is famous for the TB12 Method, a highly restrictive diet lambasted in the media and reportedly now adopted by Kirk Cousins, Goff reportedly can't or doesn't eat red meat because of an enzyme difficiency that makes it difficult to process proteins.
But in the end, none of this really matters -- most of it came from Wikipedia by the way -- as no one can predict exactly what's going to happen when the Pats and Rams take the field in Atlanta on February 3 (except maybe Tony Romo).
That's why we all love sports, because the game has to be played. Someone is taking home a Lombardi trophy in two weeks and everything on this page will be completely pointless.
Anyway, here are the draft highlights.
MORE: Belichick respects everything about Rams
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