TAMPA, Fla. — Chase Young wants Tom Brady. Ron Rivera wants you to get Chase Young.
The rookie defensive end wallpapered all the bulletin boards at the Bucs’ training facility when he ran off Lincoln Financial Field after Washington clinched the NFC East Sunday, shouting how much he wanted a shot at the six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
It wasn’t a mouthy maneuver made to fire up his teammates. It wasn’t verbal gamesmanship to hype Saturday’s wild-card game.
According to Rivera, Washington’s first-year head coach, Young was simply excited for a chance to play against another iconic NFL quarterback.
“I think you don’t understand the context,” Rivera said. “You guys want to put the bulletin board material out there, to be honest with you. What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to understand him. First of all, he loves everything about football.
“If you had seen how excited he was before we played Pittsburgh and how much he wanted to play against Ben Roethlisberger — to the point that during the warmups, he went over there and shook Ben’s hand, he was so excited about that. Tom (Brady) is an iconic player. (Young) grew up watching Tom. So now, he gets to play against one of the best, and that’s the thing I think people don’t understand.”
Rivera may be correct. Young, already one of the NFL’s fiercest pass rushers and named captain as a rookie out of Ohio State, may have meant no disrespect.
But the Bucs offensive line absolutely took it personally.
“It’s absolutely a challenge,” guard Ali Marpet said. “Washington has a good defensive front. I think as an offensive line, not just because of the playoffs, but because of playing a good defense, it’s our job to step up and put it on our shoulders if we can.”
Former Colts and Packers center Jeff Saturday, who played in more than his share of postseason games, said Young may receive some unwanted attention Saturday as a result of his outburst.
“They’re texting the offensive line: ‘Hey boys. You hear what these guys are saying? We have to protect our guy,’ ” said Saturday, who works as an NFL analyst for ESPN. “And Chase Young, you better protect your rib. You get a spin move inside, somebody is going to give you some rib music, some chin music, man.
“This is what playoff football is all about. I couldn’t be more fired up. You’re talking about one of the best front sevens in the league going against this offensive line. They have to protect Tom Brady.”
As expected, the hyper-focused Brady hasn’t wasted much time watching Young’s comments that have been played on endless network loops.
“He’s obviously a great young player, so we’ve got our hands full with that D-line,” Brady said Wednesday. “It’s one of the best D-lines in the league. Chase is a great young player. He went to Ohio State, so after, naturally I think that Ohio State-Michigan thing wears off on him, so I understand that. We’re prepared for a tough challenge, and it should be a fun game.”
There’s no denying Young is a tough guy to block. But he’s not the only one. Washington has no shortage of pass rushers.
In fact, Young is the fourth defensive lineman Washington has drafted in the first round over the past four seasons, after Jonathan Allen (2017), Daron Payne (2018), and Montez Sweat (2019). Ryan Kerrigan was Washington’s first-round selection in 2011. Sweat leads the team with 9.5 sacks, followed by Young (7.5 sacks), Kerrigan (5.5) and Tim Settle (5).
That’s why Washington owns the fifth-most sacks in the league, with 47, one fewer than the Bucs.
Make no mistake that the Bucs have struggled against teams with a good pass rush. They lost to the Bears, Saints and Rams in games where Brady never looked comfortable in the pocket.
“When you think of Tom Brady, he becomes a mere mortal, which is unheard of, when he gets pass pressure,” Saturday said. “I love the whole mentality of this football game. What everybody is talking about. The juice is real, man. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch it.”
This is what is so great about the playoffs. It will be strength vs. strength in Saturday’s wild-card game.
It’s the Bucs’ hot offense, which has averaged 37 points over the past four games, against the Washington defense.
So Young wants Brady.
Bruce Arians offers only one strategic piece of advice.
“You have to block them,” he said.
