The age difference between the AFC and NFC Divisional Round defenders will be the widest since 1970
Andy Reid has been in this situation before, with a young franchise defender in a team that seriously aspires to the second consecutive Super Bowl.
The Kansas City head coach is looking to revalidate the title with Patrick Mahomes and is excited to see young team leaders still alive in the AFC postseason. At the National, the situation is different.
Actually, this will be the biggest age difference between the defenders of both conferences in the divisional round.
How wide? A pair of Passers over 40 will meet at the National Conference. Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints. Instead, the oldest AFC defender will be 25-year-old Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns..
“I think this is good for this sport, for the arrival of new players in this position,” said Reid, who has reached four NFC finals with Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles since the 2000 season.
Buffalo Bills won a post-season game for the first time in 25 years, with 24-year-old Josh Allen in charge. Cleveland ended an 18-year drought with no playoffs thanks to Mayfield and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers six-time Super Bowl champion a lesson in humiliation in the Wild Card round.
Reid and Mahomes, who are also 25 years old, albeit 156 days younger than Mayfield, are on the verge of reaching their third AFC championship game after the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 50 years this season. last. .
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, 24, the 2019 MVP, won his first playoff game by defeating the Tennessee Titans last week.. Now the Ravens are preparing to visit the Buffalo Bills.
“My mother-in-law wrote to me the other day saying he was the old man,” Mayfield joked. “Someone sent me something about how close they all are. It’s crazy to see Josh, Lamar and Pat. Pat is the most experienced of us all.”
The seniority of the National Conference was determined after the Los Angeles Rams excluded John Wolford, who is 25 years and 29 days younger than Muhammad. Jared Goff will start in the divisional round against the Green Bay Packers. Goff is 26 years old and already has experience playing a Super Bowl.
Goff will face 37-year-old Aaron Rodgers on his visit to Green Bay, while Brees, who turns 42 on Friday, will meet 43-year-old Brady on Sunday. the longest-running double of the opposing defender in history. NFL.
With Goff’s start, the average NFC defender will be 37 years and 77 days old, compared to 24 years and 344 days in AFC. The difference is 12 years and 98 days, which is the widest in the NFL since 1970..