Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees is oldest QB matchup ever

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 12, 2021, 5:39 AM EST
NFL: NOV 08 Saints at Buccaneers
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When the Buccaneers play the Saints on Sunday, we’ll see the oldest quarterback matchup in NFL history.

Brady is 43 and Brees will turn 42 on Friday, and the combined age of 85 will be the oldest for two quarterbacks playing against each other in NFL history.

The previous record was a combined age of 84, set when Brady and Brees met each other twice during the regular season. The previous playoff record was a combined age of 78, set two years ago when 41-year-old Brady’s Patriots took on 37-year-old Philip Rivers‘ Chargers.

Brady became the oldest quarterback ever to play in a playoff game when the Buccaneers beat Washington on Saturday. Brees is the second-oldest to start a playoff game, after Brady, although both George Blanda and Vinny Testaverde played in the playoffs, as backups, when they were older than Brees is now.

Brady is having some fun with the matchup, posting on Twitter an image showing he and Brees looking elderly, and saying the game should be on the History Channel.

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23 responses to “Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees is oldest QB matchup ever”

  4. What I’d like to know is how many QBs over 40 went to another team and had them in the playoffs their first year? Still the GOAT.

  7. Just shows that the current trend of hyper-athletic quarterbacks isn’t comparable to having the mental understanding of the game. And it’s exceedingly unlikely that most of those QBs will still be playing into their forties.

  8. Brees was very good in the bears game spread the ball over the place. i think it will come down to which team can get their running back going and whether the Bucs can finally find success against the shaky whodat secondary (esp. Janoris Jenkins)

  9. Tom and Drew at 43 and 42 play better than most of the league now. That’s just sad even if they are all time greats.

  11. tgucc says:
    January 12, 2021 at 8:34 am
    What I’d like to know is how many QBs over 40 went to another team and had them in the playoffs their first year? Still the GOAT.

    ——-

    Favre’s first season with the Vikings was better than Brady with the Bucs

  13. Favre’s first season with the Vikings was better than Brady with the Bucs
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________

    I’d say its more even. Brady had 400 more yards and 7 more TDs then Favre. Brett did have a higher completion % and threw less INTs, however. Brady is also 43 and had no pre-season. Favre was 40. Looking at the full picture, I would say they both had about the same amount of success in their first year on a new team.

  15. Last time I checked this isn’t a boxing match or UFC fight, a tennis match or golf game or even a pitcher-batter dual. These guys are never ever on the field together. At age 40, this becomes a protected clasd under labor laws. Actually mentioning age is the equivalent to mentioning race or sex or disability. Please be better.

  16. Kinda funny in the Twitter picture how Brady has the old Brees bald and with glasses but not his old self.

  17. byaaah says:
    January 12, 2021 at 10:19 am
    tgucc says:
    January 12, 2021 at 8:34 am
    What I’d like to know is how many QBs over 40 went to another team and had them in the playoffs their first year? Still the GOAT.

    ——-

    Favre’s first season with the Vikings was better than Brady with the Bucs
    ———-

    I’m a Favre superfan, only guy I like more than Brady. But I would have to say it was not better, at most I’d even it out. I mean Favre was 40 and had a full preseason, but not taking anything away from Brett he had an amazing year. Bit less numbers but he took em to the NFCC game. Dirty ass Saints had to ruin it, they would’ve beat the Colts that year.

    Let’s go Brady, knock these Saints out and get revenge for Brett! Saints been playoff cursed ever since Bountygate.

  21. What are the real odds of the Bucs losing the Saints a fifth time in a row? Mathematical probability alone, that’s hard to do. Brady prevails! The game is 6:40pm; he can still be in bed soon after 9pm.

  22. The way this was written you’d think that George Blanda & Vinny Testaverde played in the same game.

  23. On 12/26/05,43 year-old Doug Flutie came off the bench for the Pats against the Jets, QB’d by 42 year-old Vinny Testaverde. It wasn’t a playoff game, and Flutie didn’t start. But I think this is the record for combined QB ages to ever appear in an NFL game. This weekend’s Brady-Brees matchup will officially break that record, but only by a month or so. Even with Brees being barely 42, Brady has an early August b-day; Doug and Vinny have Oct and Nov b-days, respectively. They will break the record by less than 2 months. Their previous matchups are not the record, unless you limit it to starting QB’s only.

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