Believe it or not, Tom Brady's Week 7 matchup will mark one of the few firsts remaining in his legendary 21-year NFL career.

The former University of Michigan quarterback has never faced an oppositing starter that attended his collegiate alma matter, Ohio State, prior to his Tampa Bay Buccaneers' matchup against the Chicago Bears and rookie Justin Fields on Sunday (October 24).

The 44-year-old quarterback jumped at the opportunity to throw a jab at the rival Big Ten program famously referred to by Michigan fans, coaches and players as "that school up North" when a reporter brought up the fact that Fields will be the first former Buckeyes star to face him.

"I'm not gonna say anything too inflammatory about Ohio State. ... I'll have my time when we play Ohio State," Brady said. "This is Michigan State week, so those are the guys that I can kinda go after. That's interesting. Why is there not a lot of Ohio State quarterbacks in the pros? Lot of Michigan guys over here. Not a lot of Ohio State guys."

Fields, a Kennesaw native who initially spent his first collegiate season at the University of Georgia, transferred to Ohio State in 2019 and was a two-time Gram-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year, both of which are given to Big Ten players, as well as a two-time first-team All-Big Ten quarterback during his two seasons in Columbus.

The Brady-Fields matchup will also set an NFL record.

Pro Football Talk reports Sunday's game between Brady, 44, and Fields, 22, will be the largest age gap between starting quarterbacks in NFL history.

The matchup will surpass a previous record set by Brady in Week 3 when he faced Mac Jones, 23, during his first and only game against the New England Patriots since leaving the franchise in March 2020 after 20 seasons.

Brady had previously set the record for largest age gap last season when the Buccanneers faced the Los Angeles Chargers and then-rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, who was 22 at the time, which was younger than Jones but still a smaller gap given Brady was 364 days younger than in his New England return.

The matchup against Jones also including Brady setting the NFL record for career passing yards, which he's since extended to 81,268, as well as his career touchdown record of 598 yards.

The 44-year-old quarterback is coming off yet another strong performance with 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 34 of 42 passing during last Thursday's (October 14) 28-22 win against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brady's record against Fields may not stand long as he's set to face the New York Jets in three months, who currently have rookie quarterback Zach Wilson -- born five months after Fields -- serving as their starting quarterback.

Brady and Wilson share an age gap of exactly 22 years given they share an August 3 birthday.

Beat of Sports

Latest Podcasts

About Beat of Sports