🏈 Tom Brady And Drew Brees Face The Future

The Patriots and Saints will be leaning on their veteran QBs to get them back to the promised land. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Two veteran quarterbacks are staring at an uncertain road map in the postseason ... the golf trick shot of the year ... and the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs is upon us. And so the National Football League playoffs are upon us again, a time when there is no substitute for experience and guile. Front and center during the Wild Card round, oh-so-fittingly, are two men who may set records for longevity and who are hoping that, this year, three is the magic number. Tom Brady and Drew Brees both have Super Bowl aspirations and couldn’t care less that countless statisticians and prognosticators don’t particularly favor the chances of either the New England Patriots or the New Orleans Saints of getting there. As No. 3 seeds in the AFC and NFC respectively, Brady and Brees find themselves coming into the postseason sharing a somewhat peculiar scenario — for them, at least. For the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, it has been suggested that neither are currently the most important contributor to their team’s success. Of the two, Brady has come far more strongly under the microscope, having posted one of the most disappointing returns of his career. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards and 24 touchdowns, but has a passer rating of just 88.0 — good enough for only 19th among NFL quarterbacks — as his team’s offense first stuttered, then showed signs of shutting down. Through it all, the Patriots still racked up a 12-4 record, but it has escaped no one’s notice that they have had a soft schedule and have been bolstered by a spectacularly excellent defense. “It’s over for the Patriots,” former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks said on FS1’s Speak For Yourself. “It’s over because their quarterback is the worst quarterback in the playoffs. He ain’t the guy anymore. So that’s what it is. In the playoffs, it’s about quarterback play and when I look at the numbers ... Tom Brady, it’s over.” [STORY IMAGE 1] Brady has had his detractors for much of the campaign, but alarm bells universally started to chime when a Week 17 defeat to the Miami Dolphins shoved New England out of the top two positions in the AFC and meant they must host the Tennessee Titans this weekend, instead of relaxing with a bye. His all-time greatness is secure and the discussion of who was the best athlete of the 2010s essentially boiled down to him and LeBron James, but he can’t shake off the shroud of doubt right now. On Undisputed, [Skip Bayless insisted New England’s title hopes would end this weekend]( and with them Brady’s Foxborough tenure. “I believe Saturday night will be the last game Brady plays in a Patriots uniform,” Bayless said. [FOX Bet]( has the Patriots as -225 money line favorites to beat the Titans, pegging them as five-point favorites, but their road to the Big Game is as difficult as they’ve ever faced. [FiveThirtyEight]( gives Bill Belichick’s squad a five percent chance of reaching the Super Bowl and a three percent shot at retaining the championship. Brady and Brees are 42 and 40 years old, respectively. Both must have drunk from the fountain of youth at some point to still be going at those advancing years. For all the recent skepticism, Brady has appeared in the last three Super Bowls, taking his tally of rings to six. Over recent weeks, Brees claimed Peyton Manning’s all-time touchdown record, with Brady hot on his heels. For Brees, his late career upturn came about when he realized that immortality for football players exists only with their legacies, not their arms. [STORY IMAGE 2] “When you realize it’s not (going to) last forever, I think your career kind of flashes before your eyes,” Brees told ESPN. “And I think you just become very grateful for the opportunity.” Brees has had a remarkable career but just the one Super Bowl appearance — a winning one in the 2009 season — to show for it. The Saints felt robbed 12 months ago when a highly-questionable call fell in favor of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game, and this is a chance to put it right, starting with Sunday’s clash against the Minnesota Vikings. FOX Bet has the Saints as overwhelming favorites at home, with a 7.5 point spread, New Orleans at -225 to win and the Vikings as +280 underdogs. No one is writing Brees off in the same manner as Brady; the questions surrounding the Saints QB came when he missed five games with torn thumb ligaments, an ailment that still forces him to wear a hand brace. However, no defense has been able to stifle him of late, with the Saints’ only defeat in their last seven games coming in a 48-46 shootout with the San Francisco 49ers. Having Michael Thomas to aim at as the most electrifying wide receiver threat in the game certainly helps, but Brees has done enough to show that he should have little fear about walking through the NFC gauntlet of fire. With Lamar Jackson doing miraculous things for the Baltimore Ravens via a special brand of youthful athleticism, it has sometimes seemed this season like a changing of the guard is upon us. That may be the case, and if the Saints and Patriots are both bumped into the offseason this weekend, it would add weight to the theory. Yet with 38 combined seasons and 82 combined years notwithstanding, toppling Brady and Brees must still surely rank among the tougher challenges in football. In NFL terms, yes, they’re old, but they’re very much alive and kicking. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... Jordan Dajani, CBS Sports: “The Patriots went 4-4 in their final eight regular-season games, and have dropped two of the past three at home. They clearly don't look like the same Patriots team that won three Super Bowls in the past decade, but you can never count them out in the postseason. People tried that last season. The Titans on the other hand are one of the hottest teams in the league. Titans coach and Patriot legend Mike Vrabel beat Bill Belichick by 24 points last season, and I think he beats the Patriots again this weekend.” Dave D’Onofrio, Boston.com: “It’s not only that they’ve now got to win an extra game to get to the Super Bowl, or that they’d likely need to go to both Kansas City and Baltimore. It’s that the wild-card round brings Tennessee, and the Titans are coached by Mike Vrabel, with Dean Pees as his defensive coordinator. They’re both ex-Patriots, and over the past couple of seasons that’s been a problem for Belichick. This year the master was slayed by both Bill O’Brien and Brian Flores, while last year he was bettered by Vrabel and Matt Patricia, meaning that four of New England’s last seven losses were to teams helmed by proteges of the Patriot Way. Whatever advantage the Patriots typically glean from intimidating or striking fear in their foes won’t be a factor when the Titans come to Foxborough.” Mike Florio, NBC Sports: “This year, fail to believe at your own risk. Because even though the Titans on paper seem to be the better team, the Patriots, especially of the past five years, are the best team football has ever seen. And they’ve been written off like they were in the ‘on to Cincinnati’ moment of September 2014. So they’re on to Tennessee. Win, and they’ll be on to Kansas City. Lose, and they’ll be on to 2020. Regardless, their approach will never change, and that’s the best way to get the most out of the roster available to Belichick at any given year and in any given week.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - The Philadelphia 76ers may have been one of the early favorites to make the finals, but as Rohan Nadkarni at Sports Illustrated explains, [Philly has no easy path to the title](. - The Ringer’s Robert Mays has the inside story on [what makes the Drew Brees-Sean Payton relationship tick](. - Seerat Sohi at Yahoo Sports elucidates [what LeBron James’ and Stephen Curry’s decade of dominance meant for the NBA](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Look: any time there’s a sports Rube Goldberg device, we’re probably going to feature it. Especially when it’s this mind-bogglingly well done. Garrett Clark and his cohorts at GM Golf have been doing trick shots and other bizarre golf things for their social media and on YouTube for some time, but this latest trick shot pretty well takes the cake. It’s 41 seconds of sheer, unadulterated “NO WAY” bliss and just three days into 2020, they may have already set the bar for viral video of the year. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) The first SmackDown of the new year will begin setting the table for the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view and the Road to WrestleMania that lies beyond. Things are about to get very interesting. Wisconsin at No. 5 Ohio State (FS1, 7 p.m. ET) Who doesn’t enjoy a little Friday night Big Ten rivalry? The Badgers at 8-5 and in second place in the conference, while the Buckeyes are sitting pretty in first place, with an 11-2 record. New Orleans Pelicans at Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET) The good news: Zion Williamson has had his first full practice since his injury and is targeting a January return. The bad news: it almost certainly won’t be in Friday night’s game at Staples Center. Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (FOX, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) The NFL postseason is finally here! The juggernaut Saints will welcome the Vikings to the Superdome with visions of taking the first step toward avenging their NFC Championship Game loss last year. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Julian Edelman 100+ receiving yards and Patriots win: +260 Tom Brady has notably had a lack of receiving options this year, but Edelman has oftentimes seemed like his favorite target. The reigning Super Bowl MVP has only had three games with 100+ receiving yards this year, but this is the playoffs, and the Patriots are hoping to avoid being knocked out in the Wild Card round. 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