With an unprecedented interseason shift movement, Tom Brady is participating in a new conference.
Instead of matches against “who is this?” AFB East QB, he will now face twice a season with two other future Hall of Famers members.
There are other great QB clashes heading our way, including the NFL’s new $ 500 million man against the reigning MVP and perhaps the first two callers caught in this year’s draft.
ESPN Stats & Info has deepened several of the duels planned for 2020. Here are some of the discoveries.
Henry Buggy, Jose De Leon, Douglas Clawson, Bryan Beasley, Will Erickson and Evan Kaplan contributed to this story.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to New Orleans Saints
Dated: September 13 | Network: Fox
Historical match: Brady and Brees kick off with a week 1 meeting in New Orleans. It will mark the first confrontation between 40-year-old starting QBs in NFL history. The two will meet again in week 9, as the two QB seek to lead their teams to the top of NFC South.
Brees and Brady are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completed passes. In fact, their 151,987 combined passing yards measure just over 86 miles, more than enough to reach space.
Elias Sports Bureau says week 1 match between Brees and Brady will be the first between the two best leaders of all time in passing yards since Hall of Famers Dan Marino and John Elway met during week 16 of the 1998 season. It is also the first confrontation between the two best leaders in touchdown passes of all time since Sid Luckman (Bears) and Sammy Baugh (Redskins) faced off on November 20, 1949. Before Brady Brees, the last time the first two in the TD DT were both active in 1973 (Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton).
The two have more combined touchdowns (1,088) than seven NFL franchises (Bengals, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Panthers, Ravens, Jaguars and Texans). In fact, individually, Brady and Brees have had more assists than the Panthers, Ravens, Jaguars and Texans in the history of their franchise.
Brady has 14 Pro Bowl caps in his career, tied with Peyton Manning for the most by any QB in NFL history, while Brees has 13 Pro Bowl caps in his career, the third most by a QB . According to Elias, their 27 selections combined in the Pro Bowl will be the most important in a starting QB confrontation, surpassing Brady’s previous records with Brees in 2017 and Manning in 2014 (22 combined in these two confrontations).
Previous meetings: Week 1 will mark the sixth meeting between Brady and Brees, Brees retaining a 3-2 lead. One of these victories came as the Chargers’ starting QB. Of the 14 QBs who have faced Brady at least five times in the regular season, Brees is the only one to have a winning record. In their head-to-head clashes, Brees threw 12 touchdowns at 1 interception, while Brady has 7 touchdowns at 6 interceptions. But Brady has won the last two games, and the last time he faced the Saints in the Big Easy (week 2 of 2017), he posted his highest QBR total (96.1) on the road during the last decade.
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