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We started 2020 with Lamar Jackson as the MVP. Patrick Mahomes was the next GOAT. Deshaun Watson played the besieged magician. And Josh Allen looked ready to explode.
The rookie quarterback class of 2020 was busy. Even Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who hadn’t even left college yet, was an electric script for this season’s first NFL quarterback.
Somewhere behind this collective champagne pop for the next generation, Tom Brady has emerged as the aging “all-in” bet of an ill-fated Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. And further north, Aaron Rodgers has absorbed the Green Bay Packers by spending a first-round pick on a player who is prepared to finally take his job. On Sunday, Brady or Rodgers will move on from the NFC title game with a chance to shatter a part of the NFL that seems to be struggling to rage without them. Whether the AFC title game produces the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes or the Buffalo Bills and Allen, the quarterback’s storyline is set.
It’s then versus now, with Brady or Rodgers representing the last gasps of a golden age, and Mahomes or Allen resuming a dawning era of “everything” quarters.
Youth against wisdom.
Porsche 911 against diversified 401ks.
Decades of big match experience against big bodies, bigger arms, and crazy off-script play.
And without a doubt, the top heads of state are absolutely there for that. Say what you want about their various journeys to the game for the NFC title – from Rodgers’ scorching MVP campaign to the kiss of Brady’s stat boss suddenly backed up by a defense – the two challenge themselves as two of the greatest quarterbacks. of the league. now. Mahomes could be the league’s centerpiece and reigning Super Bowl champion, and Allen could be the league’s MVP first favorite next season, but Rodgers and Brady are vying for the top of the leaderboards at the end of this season. . If only to prove that the stick won’t be as much of a transfer as it is an alley fight.
There is bitterness in this pursuit. Make no mistake about either of the Hall of Fame members from the first ballot always feeling like they have something to prove about where they live in the game. Especially after Brady has had his awkwardly empty break with the New England Patriots and Rodgers experienced yet another needle stick from a personnel department that continues to chart a course without him. The two have accomplished too much to be pushed back, either by the franchises each being lifted onto their shoulders or by the league leaning heavily on the next wave of multi-faceted talent at the post.
After all, it’s not like Brady and Rodgers don’t see what’s going on around them. The lights are constantly on on many of the contemporaries who have helped define them over the past two decades, with Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016 signaling a two-minute warning for arguably the biggest collection of quarterbacks in the league in the same. time. Eli Manning followed in 2019. Drew Brees will likely suspend him this offseason, with Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers in the dead of their career winter as well. It’s a group of players that defines the top 10 in virtually every important quarterback statistic, not to mention the Super Bowl wins brought in by the Manning Brothers, Roethlisberger and Brees. What’s interesting about this NFC title game is that you can’t assume it’s the last hurray for Brady or Rodgers. Both insist that they are moving forward into 2021.
This is certainly no surprise for Rodgers, who arguably looked as dominant this season as any of his 16-year career. It was a campaign that he not only declared (before the end of the season) that he believed to be the league’s MVP, but then backed it up with what amounted to full-length perfection. . Lest anyone forget, Rodgers is a 37-year-old compared to Brady, 43 – and the Packers quarterback has repeatedly said he wants to play in his 40s. Considering how his 2020 season is unfolding, that sounds less like a goal than a certainty.
He is not alone either. Brady is already planning to return to the Buccaneers next season and has reportedly said second year at Tampa will be the top. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has publicly stated that he will be back in 2021 as well, and Antonio Brown has said on several occasions that he would like to continue playing for the Buccaneers quarterback. While it’s crazy to think Brady might be a better player to start the camp at 44, it’s worth noting that he might have a more normal offseason than the last, including an off-season passing program where vital parts of the offensive are fine tuned.
Neither Rodgers nor Brady are leaving. The game for the NFC title is not a big start. If anything, it’s a prologue to next season, when the teams around them should be even better. And that gives them even more motivation to treat the next three weeks as an opportunity. It’s not just about adding more frosting to their already rich resumes, but also sending a message to anyone and everyone that their days are not as over as we might have thought there five months ago.
Of course, the Super Bowl will be the ultimate referendum for the advancing quarterback. But Sunday’s NFC title game at Lambeau Field retains its significance. Brady comes in with an absurd 32 playoff wins and nine conference championship games. And Rodgers has outperformed every newcomer this season, including Mahomes, Allen, and every other quarterback that spun him in 2020.
Age or not, it’s still a battle of titanic proportions, surpassed only by the size of the middle finger delivered by the game, sending a message that if the next era of dynamic quarterbacks is ready to own the league, one of them. The always is going to have to prove it against an Eternal Wonder in February.
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