Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

By Aaron Kasinitz | akasinitz@pennlive.com

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PHILADELPHIA — At first glance, it seems Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz runs the type of system that might fare well against New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Or at least as well as any defense can.

Brady will attempt to win his record sixth Super Bowl on Feb. 4 when his team battles Schwartz’s Eagles. A two-time MVP and the favorite to win a third this year, Brady’s sliced through countless opponents during his nearly two decade reign over the NFL.

But conventional wisdom and a dig into the history books suggest the best way to bother Brady is to accomplish something Schwartz prides himself on: Pressuring the quarterback with a four-man rush. Brady’s too quick with his decisions for defenses to have success with the blitz. And he’ll pick apart a secondary if he has time to throw.

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In both of Brady’s Super Bowl losses, though, the Giants put him under duress without blitzing. New York’s talented defensive ends routinely broke into the backfield, and the Patriots struggled to deal with it.

Schwartz designed this Eagles defense to do the same thing, and with all-pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the mix, Philadelphia's been able to wreak havoc on opposing offenses most of the year despite rarely sending extra rushers. Thus, local and national media outlets have declared that Philadelphia's best bet to upset New England is to have the defensive front harass Brady.

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The thought makes sense. But if the Eagles can knock Brady off his game, it’d be an unusual feat for Schwartz, who’s struggled to contain the Patriots quarterback throughout his career.

During his time as a head coach or defensive coordinator, Schwartz’s teams are 2-5 against the Patriots. And Brady’s stats in those games are impressive:

123 of 205 passing (60 percent), 1,561 yards (223 per game), 11 touchdowns, 1 interception

Below, we take a look at every game Brady has played against a Schwartz-led defense, and we’ll offer some takeaways at the end of the list. Go ahead and dive in.

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Dec. 12, 2002: Titans 24, Patriots 7

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Tennessee Titans defenseman Henry Ford (92) sacks New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) in the first quarter Monday, Dec. 16, 2002 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Russell)

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Brady stats: 14 of 29 passing, 134 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, 47.2 rating

Defense's sacks: 3

Skinny: Schwartz, who served as the Titans' defensive coordinator from 2001 through '08, had the upper hand the first time one of his teams met Brady. Tennessee controlled possession in this game, and the defensive line was responsible for all three sacks — just the way Schwartz likes it.

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Oct. 5, 2003: Patriots 38, Titans 30

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Brady stats: 17 of 31 passing, 219 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 88 rating

Defense's sacks: 3

Skinny: It's important to note that Brady wasn't a prolific passer at this point in his career. This was a pretty typical game for the New England star early in his career; he played mistake-free football and helped the Patriots pull out a win. Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse had two of the three sacks for Schwartz's defense.

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Jan. 10, 2004: Patriots 17, Titans 13 (AFC divisional round playoffs)

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AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

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Brady stats: 21 of 41 passing, 201 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 73.3 rating

Defense's sacks: 0

Skinny: Once again, Brady did just enough to push his team past the Titans en route to his second Super Bowl championship. While Schwartz's unit limited the Patriots' offense, Tennessee failed to generate a sack or takeaway.

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Dec. 31, 2006: Patriots 40, Titans 23

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Brady stats: 15 of 24 passing, 225 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 107.1 rating

Defense's sacks: 1

Skinny: With a playoff berth wrapped up, the Patriots benched Brady after three quarters of this one, and he was sharp during his time on the field. Schwartz's Titans were fighting to get into the playoffs but couldn't stop New England's offense enough to get the job done.

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Nov. 25, 2010: Patriots 45, Lions 24

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AP Photo/Tony Ding

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Brady stats: 21 of 27 passing, 341 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 158.3 rating

Defense's sacks: 1

Skinny: Schwartz took over as Lions head coach in 2009 and pulled the team from 0-16 to the playoffs, but he didn't have much success in this Thanksgiving Day game, which came during Brady's second MVP season. The Patriots rolled the Lions this season — and they blew out plenty of other teams, too.

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Oct. 12, 2014: Patriots 37, Bills 22

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Brady's stats: 27 of 37 passing, 361 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 139.6 rating

Defense's sacks: 2

Skinny: After the Lions fired Schwartz in 2013, he landed as the Bills' defensive coordinator and wound up in the same division as the Patriots. But Brady hadn't changed much from 2010 to '14. He was still at the top of his game and showed that against Schwartz.

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Dec. 28, 2014: Bills 17, Patriots 9

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AP Photo/Elise Amendola

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Brady's stats: 8 of 16 passing, 80 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 64.6 rating

Defense's sacks: 1

Skinny: Like in 2006, Schwartz squared off against Brady in a regular-season finale after the Patriots had already clinched a spot in the playoffs. At this point an established star, Brady left the game at halftime.

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Takeaways

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Brady shredded Schwartz’s defenses in the past two full games he played against them. If we take the meaningless 2014 finale out of the equation, Brady’s stats in two games against Schwartz’s teams since 2010 look like this:

48 of 64 passing (75 percent), 702 yards, 8 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

If Brady posts a four-touchdown, zero-interception stat line in this year’s Super Bowl, it’s difficult to imagine the Eagles sticking with the Patriots. The past isn’t going to dictate how things play out at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, however.

As Schwartz mentioned this week, the Eagles’ defense and Patriots’ offense have players, strengths and weaknesses that make this particular game unique.

Schwartz has never faced Brady with Fletcher Cox on his defense (though he has done so with all-pro tackles like Albert Haynesworth and Ndamukong Suh). In any case, glean from this information what you will. Just don’t assume Schwartz has a foolproof way to stop Brady, because he hasn’t done so yet.

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