So now it’s finally official that the great Tom Brady is retiring for good as he announced it last week. Tom Brady is the GOAT for both the quarterback and in the NFL that I have seen during my lifetime, I know players like Peyton Manning and Jerry Rice are right up there but what #12 did was just amazing Tom Brady had the greatest career ever for a quarterback in the NFL and I don’t think we will ever see a career like ever again. Tom Brady won 7 Super Bowls, 6 with the Patriots and 1 with the Buccaneers. His 7 rings is more than any franchise in the NFL along with 5 Super Bowl MVP’s along with so many other records. Here are a couple of records that standout to me with Tom Brady, 251 wins during the regular season, 35 wins in the Playoffs, the fourth, quarterback to defeat all 32 teams in the NFL, 19 division championships, the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl from both the NFC and AFC, and 14 consecutive seasons where his team qualified for the playoffs which happened from 2009-2022. Enjoy your retirement Tom Brady and thanks for giving me and millions of football fans so many wonderful memories.
Someone asked me to compile some of my favorite Tom Brady games and I will go ahead and provide some of my favorites in a list below.
- Super Bowl 36 02-03-01: 16-27 for 145 yards and 1 touchdown weren’t eye popping stats but what he did during that final drive started the Patriots dynasty and his GOAT Status. I remember the late great John Madden calling the game on Fox with the late great Pat Summerall said the following before the game winning drive: “With no timeouts, I think that the Patriots, with this field position, you have to just run the clock out,” Madden said. “You have to play for overtime now. I don’t think you want to force anything here. You don’t want to do anything stupid because you have no timeouts and you’re backed up.” Tom Brady led his team on a game winning drive which was capped off by a Adam Vinatieri 48 yard field goal as time expired which was a huge upset against the 14-2 St. Louis Rams as the Patriots win 20-17 in New Orleans at the Superdome where they launched a new dynasty in the NFL and in this game Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl MVP.
- Super Bowl 38 02-01-04: Tom Brady went 32-48 for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. After Carolina tied the score at 29, Panthers kicker John Kasay accidentally kicked the ball out of bounds which the gave Patriots great field position for Brady to put his team into position for a game winning field goal and it happened again as Adam Vinatieri nailed a 41 yard field goal to give the Patriots their second Super Bowl Championship in three seasons with a thrilling 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Houston as Brady won his second Super Bowl MVP.
- While Tom Brady had an amazing 2007 season where he threw a then NFL record 50 touchdown passes in a season, the one game that caught my eye was on 10-21-07 in Miami. Brady against the Dolphins was 21-25 for 354 yards with 6 touchdowns where he threw 5 of them in the first half as the Patriots won easily 49-28.
- 10-18-09: In a rare snow game in October against the Tennessee Titans in Foxboro, Brady was 29-34 for 380 yards with 6 touchdowns, 5 of them in the second quarter alone which is an NFL record for touchdowns in a single quarter as Patriots smashed the Titans 59-0. This felt like 2007 all over again as Brady took apart the Titans and made it look easy in the snow as they finished with a club record 619 yards of total offense.
- 01-15-12: Against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in Foxboro in the 2nd round of the NFL Playoffs Brady tied a NFL Playoff with record with 6 touchdown passes tying him with Daryl Lamonica and Steve Young. Brady 26-34 for 363 yards with 6 touchdowns and 1 interception, he threw 5 of his touchdowns in the first half as the Patriots cruised 45-10 with an easy win.
- 01-10-2015: In the second round of the 2014 NFL Playoffs against the tough Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Brady and the Patriots twice faced a 14 point deficit and the Patriots found a way win in a 35-31 thriller. Brady was 33-50 for 367 yards with 4 total touchdowns, 3 through the air and 1 on the ground against a really tough and good ravens defense.
- 02-01-2015: In Super Bowl 42 in the same stadium during the 2007-08 season the Patriots were denied at a perfect season with a gut wrenching 17-14 loss to the NY Giants. In this game Brady and the Patriots won a thriller 28-24 in Glendale Arizona where this game is remembered by the Malcolm Butler interception at the goal line to give the Patriots a 28-24 win. In this game Brady and the Patriots came back from a 10 point deficit against the #1 defense in the NFL in the Seattle Seahawks who were the defending champions at that time. Brady was 37-50 for 328 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. This Super Bowl win gave Brady his 4th Super Bowl ring tying him with Hall of Fame Quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana. Tom Brady of course was the Super Bowl MVP in this game as he wins it for the 3rd time.
- 10-09-2016: In his first game back from that bogus 4 game suspension because of deflategate, Tom Brady had no rust as he went 28-40 for 406 yards with 3 touchdowns to tight end Martellus Bennett as the Patriots cruised to an easy 33-13 win in Cleveland against the lowly Browns. The 2016 revenge tour for Tom Brady has officially begun.
- 02-05-2017: Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Patriots were down 28-3 midway through the 3rd quarter but never ever count out Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots. Yes the Falcons definitely collapsed with questionable play calling on offense but still give the Patriots there due as the Patriots won Super Bowl 51 on the first possession in overtime 34-28 on a James White rush to give Brady his 5th Super Bowl ring and his 4th Super Bowl MVP. Brady went 43-62 for a then Super Bowl record of 466 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception which was a pick six in the second quarter. This was one of my favorite Tom Brady games ever as we learned never count him out.
- 02-07-2021: If I had to pick one game in a Tampa Bay Bucs uniform it would be Super Bowl 55 his only Super Bowl victory without Patriots headcoach Bill Belichick as Brady signed with the Bucs during the 2020 offseason. The Bucs defense got most of the headlines in their 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs which was in there own stadium but Brady was wins his 5th Super Bowl MVP even though I felt someone from the Bucs defense should of gotten the award as Brady went 21-29 for 201 yards with 3 touchdowns. This win gave Brady ring #7 as Brady got a championship for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time since the 2002-03 season.