How Brady and Mac Jones will make NFL history in Pats-Bucs matchup

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There are about a million storylines entering the New England Patriots' Week 4 matchup with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Gillette Stadium.

Make that a million and one.

Brady will make his first trip to New England as a visitor Sunday at the ripe age of 44. His Patriots counterpart is rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who's making his fourth NFL start at age 23.

Simulation: What Patriots' season to date would look like with Brady at QB

That's a 21-year age gap between the game's two starting QBs -- which as you might expect is the largest in NFL history.

Jones was born on Sept. 5, 1998 -- the same day a 21-year-old Brady and the Michigan Wolverines fell to Notre Dame in his junior season opener.

By the time Jones was in kindergarten, Brady had already won three Super Bowl championships with the Patriots. By the time he graduated high school, Brady's title count was up to six.

Brady's longevity is truly mind-boggling, especially as his quarterback contemporariesĀ retire and young guns like Jones and Trevor Lawrence get thrust into starting roles.

"I don't remember this many rookies playing," Brady said recently on his "Let's Go!" podcast with Jim Gray. "Gone are the days of Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning. Those are the guys I'm used to hearing about."

Brady admitted this week he hasn't seen much of Jones in New England. But suffice it to say the Alabama product faces a massive challenge in taking the Patriots QB mantle from Brady.

Taking down the defending Super Bowl champion Bucs (and an extra-motivated Brady) on Sunday night will be his toughest test yet.

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