As Tom Brady looks ahead to his 14th conference championship appearance, Drew Brees is left pondering his NFL future.
Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Brees and the New Orleans Saints 30-20 in Sunday night's NFC Divisional Round matchup. It very well may have been the final game of Brees' career, as FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reported before the game that Brees plans to retire when his playoff run ends.
WATCH: Brady shoves Saints d-lineman during Divisional Round
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If true, it's only fitting Brees' final game came against a fellow NFL legend in an epic battle of 40-plus-year-old QBs. Brady emphasized his respect for Brees prior to the matchup, and that mutual respect was on display afterward as well:
Regardless of whether this is the end for Brees, he'll go down as one of the greatest QBs of all time and is a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He would ride off into the sunset with the all-time passing yards record (80,358) and second all-time behind Brady in passing TDs (571).
As for Brady, he'll move on to the NFC Championship game where he'll face off against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, and retirement still does not seem to be on his radar.