Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will square off against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants in a Thursday night game.
New England’s 42-year-old quarterback entered this season as one of the oldest to play, and Jones maneuvered his way into a starting role as a rookie. So, there’s quite the age difference there. To be precise, this is the second-largest age gap between quarterbacks since the merger, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Brady won his first Super Bowl in 2001 when Jones was only four years old. He likely didn’t remember that game, but he did remember when the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Jones was born in Charlotte, N.C., and he was six years old when Adam Vinatieri kicked the historical 41-yard field goal to win the game.
Jones elaborated on the moment in an interview with ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan.
“I remember where I watched it. Went to a friend’s house. The Dickens’ house. A family friend,” Jones said. “Obviously it was heartbreaking when Vinatieri made that field goal.”
Although Brady defeated his childhood team — Jones didn’t carry any hard feelings or hatred towards him.
“Not really,” he said. “Don’t think I knew that much at that age. Knew I liked the Panthers.”
Jones’ first opportunity to face Brady is in unlikely circumstances. The Giants will be without Saquan Barkley, Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard in a matchup at Gillette Stadium. It’s also worth noting that it’s a primetime game and the Patriots are 5-0, with the best defense in the NFL right now.
It’ll be a tough awakening for the rookie, but the Giants have came out to compete this season despite losing Odell Beckham Jr. and a few key players.
