The Steelers have been out of the playoffs for two weeks. Super Bowl LV is set as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7. And it features two demons of Steelers history in Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski with Tampa Bay.

Also, two reviled ex-Steelers All-Pros, Le’Veon Bell (K.C.) and Antonio Brown (Tampa Bay), are on the rosters. And deposed Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is now the head coach of the Bucs. Keep in mind, the Steelers have dismissed both coordinators who have been hired since Arians was dismissed (Todd Haley, Randy Fichtner).

Man, I hate 2020. When is it going to be over?!

Huh? It is? Wait … when did that happ … Oh. Right. Yeah.

Well, so far January 2021 just feels like the 13th month of 2020 anyway. And technically this still is the 2020 NFL season. So let’s leave it at that.

But as 105.9 The X host — and TribLive columnist — Mark Madden said on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, you can’t escape the storyline of Brady.

“If (Brady) wins this Super Bowl, he’s not only the greatest quarterback ever, he is the greatest football player,” Madden said. “And he’s ahead of guys like Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali in the American lexicon. Or, at the very least, in that conversation.”

Hate him, if you must. And most of us in Pittsburgh sure do. But Brady’s quest for a seventh Super Bowl ring is a remarkable storyline. Especially when you consider it is happening in Year 1 after the divorce from the New England Patriots, who quickly sunk out of the playoffs in the first year of Brady’s absence.

“By getting the Bucs to the Super Bowl in his first year, while his old team went 7-9, I can’t put into words how impressive that is,” Madden continued.

OK. Me either. So let’s try numbers instead of words. Consider all these 2020-21 stats knowing Brady is 43 years old.

• Brady’s 4,633 passing yards are the fourth-highest total of his career.

• Brady’s 40 touchdowns were only eclipsed by the 50 he threw with the 18-1 Pats of 2007.

• His 401 completions were exceeded only once (402 in 2015).

• This is the first time that Brady has ever won three conference playoff games to advance to a Super Bowl.

So maybe Madden is onto something.

He also may be onto something when it comes to his comments about the Steelers’ acquisition of Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins, their search for an offensive coordinator, the Penguins victory Sunday over the New York Rangers and the recent trades by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You can download the podcast here.

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