We started 2020 with Lamar Jackson as the MVP. Patrick Mahomes was the following GOAT. Deshaun Watson played the beleagured wizard. And Josh Allen looks ready to explode.
The rookie quarterback class in 2020 has been loaded. Even Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who has not even left college, was an electric storyline from the NFL’s first quarterback this season.
Somewhere behind the next-generation joint Champagne doll, Tom Brady has emerged as the aging ‘all-in’ gamble of an unfortunate Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. And further north, Aaron Rodgers absorbed the Green Bay Packers to dedicate a first-round draft to a player being cared for to eventually take his job. On Sunday, Brady or Rodgers will advance from the NFC title game with a shot to break up an NFL party that is apparently trying hard to rage without them. Whether the AFC title game produces the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes or the Buffalo Bills and Allen, the quarterback story is set.
It’s then versus now, with Brady or Rodgers representing the final snatch of a golden era, and Mahomes or Allen once again a budding era of ‘everything’ quarterbacks.
Youth against wisdom.
Porsche 911s versus diversified 401s.
Decades of great gameplay experience against big bodies, bigger arms and crazy plays outside of writing.
And without a doubt, the senior heads of state are absolutely in favor of this. Say what you will about their different paths to the NFC title race – from Rodgers’ infectious MVP campaign to Brady’s statistical chef coast suddenly driven by a defense – they defiantly present themselves as two of the league’s greatest backs now immediately. Mahomes may be the center of the league and the defending Super Bowl champion, and Allen may be the early favorite for the league’s MVP next season, but Rodgers and Brady will fight around the head of the table when this season is over. is. Even if it’s just to prove that the baton is not going to be as much of an alley fight.
There is bitterness in the pursuit. Don’t worry about the Hall of Famer first ballot that still feels like they have something to prove about where they live in the game. Especially after Brady had his awkward empty break with the New England Patriots and Rodgers experienced another staffing sting of a staff division that still maps a course without him. Both have managed too much to push themselves aside, either through the franchises that have each lifted on their shoulders, or through the league leaning hard towards the next wave of versatile talents in the position.
After all, it’s not like Brady and Rodgers do not see what is happening around them. The lights are gradually turning on many of the contemporaries who have helped define them over the past two decades, with the retirement of Peyton Manning in 2016 indicating a two-minute warning for the league’s largest “same era” collection of quarterbacks . Eli Manning will follow in 2019. Drew Brees will likely hang it out of season as well, with Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers also deep into the winter of their careers. This is a group of players who define the top ten of virtually every important statistical measure of quarterbacks, not to mention the Super Bowl victories put on the table by the Manning brothers, Roethlisberger and Brees. What’s interesting about this NFC title game is that it can not be accepted that it’s the last hurray for Brady or Rodgers. Both maintain that they will continue until 2021.
This is certainly not a surprise for Rodgers, who has probably been as dominant this season as in his 16-year career. It was a campaign he not only declared (before the season ended) that he believed he was the league’s MVP, but backed it up with what was perfect. If anyone does not forget, Rodgers is a young 37-year-old compared to the 43-year-old Brady – and the Packers full-back has repeated several times that he wants to play in his 40s. Given how its 2020 season unfolded, it looks less like a goal and more like a certainty.
He is not alone either. Brady is already planning to return to the Buccaneers next season and says he believes Year 2 in Tampa will be the highlight. Tighthead Rob Gronkowski has said he will also be back in 2021, and Antonio Brown has repeatedly said he would like to play with the Buccaneers full-back. While it’s crazy to think that Brady could be a better player kicking off the camp at 44, it’s worth noting that he’s had a more normal off-season than his last, including a program that succeeds out of season, where important parts of the offense are adjusted.
Neither Rodgers nor Brady leave. The NFC title contest is not a big broadcast. If anything, it’s a prelude to next season’s when the teams around them need to be even better. And it gives both even more motivation to consider the next three weeks as an opportunity. It’s not only to add more ripeness to their already rich CVs, but also to send a message to everyone and everyone that their era is not as over as we expected 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 importance. Brady comes away with an absurd 32-season win and nine games in the title. And Rodgers has scored all the players over the course of the season, including Mahomes, Allen and every other quarterback who turned it around in 2020.
Age or not, it’s still a battle of titanic dimensions, surpassed only by the size of the middle finger delivered by the match, which sends a message that one of them is still ready as the next era of dynamic backs to own the league. will have to prove it in February against a timeless miracle.
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