Tom Brady was spry, moving nimbly in the pocket and firing passes over and around hapless defenders and into the clutches of his intended targets. The Patriots were unstoppable, and it seemed Brady was embarking on a reign of dominance that would last years, perhaps decades. But that was 2018. A lot has changed since then.
A new wave of quarterbacks, led by reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and unanimous regular-season MVP Lamar Jackson, have captured the collective imagination of the football world, just as aging passers like Brady (age 42), Drew Brees (41) and Philip Rivers (38) have begun to struggle.