It’s been noted this week that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota have the biggest age gap between two starting quarterbacks in a postseason game in NFL history.
The 16 years between the two players account for a big edge in experience for Brady and that’s also illustrated by the fact that Brady will be making his 35th postseason start on Saturday. Mariota made his first playoff start last Saturday and Brady was asked at a press conference on Thursday if he thought there was a built-in edge that comes with that experience.
“I think it just comes down to how well you play,” Brady said. “At the end of the day, it’s not about old guys are going to win or young guys are going to win, the home team, the road team. It’s really going to come down to execution. No one’s going to be able to do it for you. You’re out there, you’re in the position to succeed. Your coaches have put a lot on you. The team’s really relying on you. You’ve got to go out there and make the plays. You’ve got to make the tackles, you’ve got to make the throws, the catches, the blocks, the runs, whatever it takes. Whoever does that better is going to win the game over the course of 60 minutes. Again, all these plays matter, so we’ve got to go out there and make sure every one counts.”
The older quarterback has won all four times quarterbacks with at least a 13-year gap in age have met in the playoffs, but it would be hard for Brady to say that experience always trumps youth since he won the Super Bowl at the same age that Mariota is now.