If you’re looking for a battle of great quarterbacks, Sunday’s showdown at Gillette Stadium should provide quite a treat.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will square off against Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Divisional Round. While the Chargers, of course, have a strong defense, both teams have gotten to this point largely due to the play of their star signal-callers.
Despite their regular-season numbers being awfully comparable, Skip Bayless believes Brady has put together a better campaign than Rivers thus far. And as the “Undisputed” co-host explained Wednesday on FOX Sports 1, the verdict of this debate goes beyond stats.
"Tom Brady had an underrated better year than Philip Rivers. … Brady threw for more yards than Philip." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/RbWm00cC8E
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 9, 2019
It’s fairly safe to say the Chargers feature a stronger arsenal of offensive weapons than the Patriots, but the gap in talent isn’t as wide as Bayless makes it out to be. New England boasts three capable, dual-threat running backs as well as a pair of wide receivers who have thrived with Brady for multiple seasons, including in the playoffs. And while Rob Gronkowski isn’t the worldbeater he once was, he’s still a tough matchup.
But regardless of which player you think has had a better season, having a quarterback matchup with a combined age of 78 at this stage in the campaign is remarkable.