When Tom Brady was celebrating his first Super Bowl win on Feb. 3, 2002, future Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was probably in bed. It was a school night after all, and he was in first grade.

Sixteen years later, these two could well meet in the AFC Championship game to determine who plays in Super Bowl LIII. Mahomes is 23, Brady 41. This year, such a spread, young guns versus old hands, is the rule, not the exception. Nipping at Brady’s heels for the second seed in the AFC were the Houston Texans, led by Deshaun Watson, age 23.