Amid hotshot passers, old men Brady and Brees roll on

Between them, Tom Brady and Drew Brees have played 38 pro football seasons, 39 if you count 2008 when the New England star wrecked his knee in Week 1. Both probably should be long retired and counting the days until their induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Instead, they’re still slinging away - and could be doing so against each other on Feb. 2 in a little thing called the Super Bowl.

No, 40-year-old quarterbacks should not still be setting NFL records. Yet Brees always seems to be doing so.

And certainly 42-year-old QBs don’t even belong on the field. But Brady has the Patriots in position for - not that most of America wants to read this -- a fourth straight trip to the Super Bowl, and his 10th overall, with six wins.

The influx of hotshot arms, from Patrick Mahomes to Lamar Jackson, from Carson Wentz to Deshaun Watson, has captured so much attention through the football galaxy. Still, it’s the two 40-somethings who lord over the quarterbacking universe, possibly for their final seasons.

Adding spice to their continued presence center stage are the stats. Consider the career touchdowns passing mark that Peyton Manning held until Brees broke it in Game 14 for the Saints. He now has 544, beating Brady to the record in part because New Orleans has a more dangerous, dependable and varied attack than does New England these days. Brady is at 539.

While neither passer is a stats freak, they certainly are aware of the numbers they have compiled.

“Obviously, before the season you know you are a certain distance away, but then once the season starts, you just focus on winning games and doing what I need to do as a quarterback of this team to put us in the best position to succeed,” Brees says.

“With that, I guess the statistics come, and maybe they add up, and then all of a sudden, you’re close enough to be within striking distance of some of those things.”

Agencies