As this NFL season has hit week 17 several QB's are showing their age. I remember Peyton Manning got to the end of the season and looked like he was done. This year several have seemed to aged quickly the last few weeks.
Tom Brady seems to have lost his edge along with Drew Brees who was sharp the first part of the season and now the defense seems to be keeping the team together, Big Ben is another one that has aged quickly the last couple weeks, also Charger QB Phillip Rivers also is looking a little worn coming off this last weekend.
Are any of them getting to old to play a complete season?
Rivers hasn't missed a game in 14 years.
He hasn't looked to good the last couple of weeks, I am not saying he will get injured but is fatigue a bigger factor on the older QBs?
The quality of competition might have something to do with how Rivers looks.
He's the most accurate QB in the league.
Even the greatest have bad games.
His team has to play well to help him.
There's maybe 2 guys on Defense that are ruining the entire team.
Hopefully those guys will be playing for someone else next season.
Drew Brees is the most accurate starting QB in the league, not Rivers. Brees also owns the record for highest completion % in a season, which he might break this year (he's currently at 74.4%, his record is 72% from last year) and has the highest career completion %.
While Brees has slowed down some in the second half of the season, he's still one of the best in the league. Against the Steelers he was 27/39 for 326 yards, 1 TD, no picks. Not too shabby. I think he's still fine.
Brady has looked very mortal this year. I think he may be done after the season, but I won't count on it until he's officially retired, despite his age.
Rivers has had a strong year as well, but his offensive line failed pretty badly in the game against the Ravens. That Ravens defense is no joke, however, being the top scoring D in the league. I think Rivers could play at least another year based on what I've seen this year.
Big Ben has thrown too many picks, but he's still at worst a middle-of-the-pack QB. He's first in yards, attempts, and completions. He's tied for first in picks with 15, but he's also got 33 TD passes. I've never considered him an elite QB, so I think he'd be fine to keep playing as well.
It's possible that any or all of the QBs are feeling their ages at the moment, but I don't think age is the only, or even the main, factor contributing to a drop in their performance. Mahomes has slowed down some (at least yardage-wise) since his remarkable start to the season, too, and he's only 23. Other than Brady, I think the QBs you've listed are just going through the usual ups and downs of a season.
