Don’t dwell on Drew Brees’ likely final game. It’s best to recall his larger legacy.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees may not have saved his best for last but his best most assuredly will last forever.

That is my prevailing take on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Not how poorly Brees played in Sunday night’s 30-20 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, but rather the moment when No. 9 becomes a first ballot Hall of Famer in Canton, Ohio.

Like many observers, I believe the clock will start ticking soon on the five-year waiting period for Brees’ entry into the house of football legends.

It appears Brees will have to settle for one Lombardi Trophy after a stellar 20-year NFL career, the last 15 spent performing at an elite level in the city of New Orleans and making Saints fans everywhere Who Dat proud.

Most observers seem to be tip-toeing around the idea that Brees has played his last game at age 42 and will soon announce his retirement and go to work for NBC Sports.

I’ve believed all along the 2020 season would be Brees’ last after news first surfaced in April that he had agreed with the network, first providing analysis at Notre Dame football games and later for NFL games on Sunday Night Football.

At the appropriate moment, Brees will end the suspense.

Until then, we can only think what might have been for Brees and a Lombardi-starved organization.

For the fourth consecutive year — a season deemed “Super Bowl or Bust” by players — the Saints set the bar high and for the fourth consecutive year they failed to fulfill lofty expectations. The Minneapolis Miracle. The No Call. The Push Off in OT.

And now the Pick Party.

In terms of Brees’ legacy, he is expected to end his career as one of the game’s best regular-season quarterbacks. But his playoff record reads a pedestrian 9-9 with his last three seasons ending in a home loss.

And while Brees failed to win multiple Lombardi Trophies with a handful of Super Bowl-caliber teams, his numerous NFL records speak volumes, most notably his league-best 80,358 passing yards and 571 TD passes.

Let the record show Brady and Bucs were the better team Sunday, avenging two regular season beat downs by the Saints.

But the Bucs had plenty of help.

The Saints committed four turnovers, resulting in three Bucs’ touchdowns, two of which followed Brees’ interceptions. Brees threw a third interception with 4:17 remaining, completing his night’s work and leaving him with a stunningly putrid 38.1 passer rating.

The next time Brees returned to the field Sunday was to congratulate the 43-year-old Brady, who will be playing in his 14th conference championship game next Sunday at Green Bay.

I am left with these lasting images:

▪ The Bucs ran out the final 4 minutes, 17 seconds with Brady in victory formation for the final three plays.

▪ Brees looked every bit his age; Brady did not. Brees never looked healthy to me after returning from 11 cracked ribs and a punctured lung.

▪ Elite Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas went missing, failing to catch a pass for the first time in his brief but brilliant career.

▪ As the final seconds ticked down, Brees exchanged words with quarterback Jameis Winston, who made a cameo appearance and tossed a 56-yard touchdown pass on a gadget play to WR Tre’Quan Smith.

▪ As Brees left the field, he blew kisses to his family gathered in a suite, waved to some of the 3,500 fans and took one last look at the field as he entered the tunnel.

After the post-game press conferences, the two quarterbacks exchanged a solemn moment on the field. Before departing, the indisputable G.O.A.T. completed a tight spiral for a TD to one of Brees’ boys, leaving No. 9 to ponder the next chapter of his life.

Soon, he will flip the page.

This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 12:12 PM.