PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will face Tom Brady for the 17th and most likely final time in his career, as the 45-year-old future Hall of Fame visits Acrisure Stadium with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That’s the 17th time the Steelers franchise will face Brady, but of course the ageless quarterback precedes nearly every member of the Steelers organization, so very few of them have faced him all 16 times previously.
When Brady first faced Pittsburgh on Jan. 27, 2002 in the AFC Championship Game, Mike Tomlin was a defensive backs coach for Tampa Bay. Steelers president Art Rooney II didn’t gain his current position until 2003. Long-toothed defensive lineman Cam Heyward was in middle school. Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett was three.