Old story for Brady, Rivers
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady typically shrugs off any mention of records or milestones he sets.
But even he had to chuckle at the one he and Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers will mark when they meet in Sunday’s divisional playoffs.
Brady, who will be 41 years and 163 days old, and Rivers, at 37 years and 36 days old, will combine to be the oldest pair of quarterbacks to face each other in an NFL playoff game, breaking the mark Brady held with Peyton Manning.
“Nice,” Brady said of the impending footnote. “Nice and old.”
Sunday will be just the fourth playoff meeting between the teams, with the Patriots holding a 2-1 edge.
Rivers enters Sunday with a 1-7 record against the Patriots, including 0-4 in games in Foxborough and 0-2 in the playoffs. Rivers earned his lone victory against the Pats during the 2008 regular season, when the Chargers were still in San Diego. Brady was sidelined for that game by a knee injury and Chargers at Patriots Patriots 21. Matt Cassel started in his place.
Brady is 7-0 as a starter against Rivers.
The Patriots (11-5), who captured their 10th straight AFC East title this season, will be seeking their eighth consecutive trip to the AFC title game.
The Chargers (13-4) haven’t even been to the conference title game since losing 21-12 to the Patriots during the 2007 season.
Rivers played in that game just days removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee. He limped his way through it while being intercepted twice and failing to throw a touchdown pass.
It’s become the toughness brand for a quarterback who hasn’t missed a game since becoming the Chargers’ starter in 2006.
Rivers, who led his team to five wins in its last six regular-season games and a road win against the Ravens in the wild-card round last week, said he’s tried to keep past shortcomings against the Patriots out of his mind this week.
“It’s not something you think about a whole lot,” he said. “It exists and it’s there but again, and I mean this, I don’t feel that I’m playing Tom. Certainly, it’s a Tom Brady-led team and we know how things work with the quarterback and the head coach that have the record attached to it. We’ve got a heck of a challenge.”
It will also be a chance to earn a signature win for second-year Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, who has steered the team through its relocation and a season that included a game in London.
To have another chance at this stage of his career to notch a playoff win against a Patriots team that has been the standard in the conference is an opportunity not lost on Rivers.
“Fired up to have a shot,” Rivers said.
The Eagles have won 19 straight games when they score in the first quarter, going 7-0 this season. They scored on a field-goal drive last week in the first quarter. It’ll be even more important to score early against the high-powered Saints, who are 5-0 when leading after one quarter, 9-0 when leading at halftime and won eight times by double-digit margins.
“We are starting the games better now over the last six, seven games,” Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “Defense is doing a really good job getting off the field early in the game. We’re able to get the lead.”