Last season, Tom Brady and Mac Jones played each other with the widest age gap between starting quarterbacks in NFL history. This year, Brady is about to set that record again against 49ers rookie Brock Purdy.
Purdy, the third-string QB coming into the season, has been thrust into the starting role with injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. He helped to get a win over the Dolphins last week in a 33-17 final, and this week he'll have to do it again against the best quarterback the NFL has seen.
Brady, 45, is more than double the age of Purdy, 22, who was born Dec. 27, 1999. That's the winter before Brady was drafted in the sixth round by the Patriots in 2000.
Just to further contextualize the gap here, Brady played against Doug Flutie, who is 60 years old. Purdy's father, Shawn, is six years younger than Flutie. All of this is to say: Brady has been around the block one or two more times than Purdy.
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How old are Tom Brady and Brock Purdy?
Brady was born Aug. 3, 1977, making him 45 years, four months and eight days old on Sunday. Purdy, meanwhile, was born Dec. 27, 1999 (happy early birthday to Purdy). That puts Purdy at 22 years, 11 months and 15 days on Sunday.
That means their difference in age is 22 years, four months and 24 days. Or, almost an entire Purdy.
Age, of course, is just a number. But nowhere is that less true than the NFL. Brady has the advantage of a lot more experience and the disadvantage of a lot more mileage.
The Buccaneers have struggled at times this season, but perhaps Purdy can become the first quarterback to win his first career start against Brady.
"I think it's cool, I think it's really cool," Purdy told reporters this week about playing Brady. "Dude's been playing football longer than I've been alive, so to have a first start against the GOAT is gonna be pretty cool. But it's just any other game man. Just gotta be efficient, do my thing and play football."
“He’s been playing football longer than I’ve been alive.”
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 5, 2022
Brock Purdy's first career start will come next week ... against Tom Brady 🐐 pic.twitter.com/Qf3Ojd7Xhs
QBs are 0-6 when they make their first career starts against Brady.
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Tom Brady vs. Brock Purdy stats
In addition to the age disparity, the stats disparity between these two is, frankly, hilarious.
Brady either holds or is closing in on nearly every significant QB passing record, whereas Purdy is just starting along his path.
| Player | Completions | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Wins |
| Tom Brady | 7,610* | 11,841* | 87,852* | 640* | 249* |
| Brock Purdy | 29 | 46 | 276 | 2 | 0 |
* - NFL record
Of course, everything needs to be taken in a vacuum with the "Any Given Sunday" mantra. But Purdy has a lot to live up to in his first career start.
Doug Clawson noted the incredible number of quarterbacks Brady has played throughout his career, with Purdy about to become the latest.
Breakdown of the starting QBs Tom Brady has faced broken down by 35 different draft classes, including Brock Purdy this week pic.twitter.com/6fusakxqfq
— Doug Clawson (@doug_clawson) December 7, 2022
Purdy looked solid against the Dolphins last week, not making a ton of mistakes and letting the offense go. He'll have to do the same against a defense that, despite the team's struggles, has overall been very good this year.
The decks may seem like they're stacked against Purdy coming in, but he doesn't seem to mind. That has to count for something.
