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Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is 21 years old — 20 years younger than Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. And Darnold can’t even remember a time when Brady and the Patriots weren’t on top of the football world.

Darnold told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that he’s not going to be giving any Joe Namath-style guarantees of beating the best team in the NFL, because he knows the Jets have to prove they’re better than the Patriots. And it’s been a long time since they’ve done that.

“I’m just going to go out and do my best,” Darnold said. “I feel like literally in my lifetime, the Patriots have ended up on top. So, I’m just going to go out there and do my job. I’m never counting anyone out, honestly. Not just the Patriots, but every team that we play in the league.”

The last time the Jets won the AFC East, Darnold was 5 years old and Brady was in his second season as the Patriots’ starter. It has been an awfully long time. Maybe some day, Brady will be an old man and Darnold will be in his prime, and the Jets will be atop the AFC East. Maybe.