Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #1 - Tom Brady

Tom Brady

Tom Brady is universally recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, due to his 6 Super Bowl victories, the most of all time, and 9 Super Bowl appearances, far ahead of John Elway's old record of 5.

He began his career as a 6th-round pick in 2000, and he spent his rookie season riding the bench behind Drew Bledsoe, completing only one pass for 6 yards all season long. He took over as the starter in the third game in 2001, and has started in every game he played since.

He was a decent player in his first season, but his totals in every category turned out to be career lows. He did enough to get New England to the playoffs, and even survived the first two rounds of the playoffs somehow, without throwing a single touchdown pass on the way to the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl, he threw 145 yards and 1 touchdown, but was awarded the MVP anyway, even though Adam Vinatieri was really the reason they won.

He was a little better in his second season, even leading the league in touchdown passes with 28, but the Patriots missed the playoffs, which would be the only time in his entire career as a starter that he would fail to make the postseason.

His regular season numbers remained steady in 2003, even dropping off a little, but he led New England to a 14-2 record, then threw one touchdown in his first two playoff games, which was better than his previous postseason run, and had a great Super Bowl, throwing 354 yards and 3 touchdowns while winning his second Super Bowl MVP.

He remained a steady passer again in 2004, among the top 5 in the league, putting up nearly identical numbers while leading the Patriots to an identical 14-2 record. He threw 3 touchdowns leading up to the Super Bowl, once again slightly better than the previous year, and threw 236 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Super Bowl, which was somewhat average for a winning QB, and did not win the MVP.

He raised his numbers in 2005, leading the league with 4110 yards, but lost in the second round of the playoffs, which was the first time Brady ever lost in the postseason, which was pretty amazing after winning his first 10 games. When he dropped his numbers back down to his average in 2006, the team's playoff performance improved, but they lost in the AFC title game to Peyton Manning and the Colts.

His 2007 season was the best he ever had, and is still one of the best ever recorded by a quarterback in history. He led the league with 4806 yards and a record-setting 50 touchdowns, and the Patriots became the first team to ever finish a season 16-0. They won two playoff games easily, and appeared headed to a perfect 19-0, but Brady was outplayed by Eli Manning in the Super Bowl, throwing only 266 yards and 1 touchdown as the perfect season ended one game short.

There would be no repeat in 2008, as Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the season, and the Patriots missed the playoffs as a result of losing their star. He came back very strong in 2009, posting his second-best season in both yardage and touchdowns, and was given the Comeback Player of the Year award, but the Patriots failed to win a single playoff game for the first time with Brady at the helm.

He was even better in 2010, dropping his yardage a bit, but throwing 36 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions on the season for an amazing 9:1 TD:INT ratio. Once again, the Patriots would lose their first playoff game, leaving Brady without a playoff victory in 3 full seasons.

He had another great season in 2011, breaking Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record one week after Drew Brees did it, which means that he never actually held the record. He finished with 5235 yards and 39 touchdowns, then led another Super Bowl run, but it ended the same way as it did 4 years earlier, with a mediocre performance in the Super Bowl that ended in a loss to the Giants and Eli Manning. 

In 2012 he put together 4827 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions while taking New England to a 12-4 record, or in other words just another season. He played well in his first playoff game, but struggled against Baltimore in the AFC title game, falling short in his bid to reach a record 6th Super Bowl.

He had a significant dropoff in 2013, falling down to 4343 yards and 25 touchdowns, but the Patriots reached 12-4 again, and Brady led them back to the AFC title game, where they lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos, leaving him out of the Super Bowl again.

His 2014 season started off rough, but he rebounded nicely as the season went on, and ended up with 4109 yards and 33 touchdowns, and New England reached 12-4 for the third straight year. The playoffs that season would be the best of his career to that point. He threw 3 touchdowns in each of the first two playoff games, which earned him a trip to his 6th Super Bowl. In that game he threw 328 yards and 4 touchdowns, which earned him his record-tying 3rd Super Bowl MVP.

Brady led the league in touchdowns once more in 2015, the 4th time he would do that in his career. In the playoffs he would fall to Peyton Manning and the Broncos, leaving him with a 2-3 career playoff record against Peyton, and 2-5 against the Manning brothers total. That season was also marred by the cloud of Deflategate, which hung over Brady all season, and resulted in him being suspended for the first 4 games of 2016.

The 2016 season still turned out well for Brady. After his backups led them to a 3-1 record in his absence, Brady returned and led New England to an 11-1 record the rest of the way, then guided them through the playoffs, culminating with the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever, in which Brady broke the Super Bowl record with 442 passing yards and another MVP, his 4th.

He led the league in passing yardage for the third time in 2017, then reached the Super Bowl for the 8th time, adding to his record. He had his best overall postseason, totaling 1132 yards and 8 touchdowns without a pick in 3 playoff games, but the Philadelphia Eagles upset the favored Pats in the big game.

He was his usual solid self again in 2018, guiding the Patriots to double-digit wins for the 16th time, an incredible feat. The reached the Super Bowl yet again, and though Brady struggled throughout the playoffs, throwing only 2 touchdowns in 3 games, it was still enough to win his 6th championship.

Brady is ahead of Joe Montana for several reasons. He has played in 5 more Super Bowls than Montana, and won 6, both records. He has a chance to reach a 4th Super Bowl in a row this year, something only Jim Kelly has done before. Brady has won 4 Super Bowl MVP's, beating Joe's old record, and both have 2 regular season MVP's. He was the first QB to ever throw 50 touchdowns, and the 3rd ever to reach 5000 yards. In addition, he has been an elite quarterback for 14 full seasons, five more than Montana. Montana was great, and it took a long time, but Brady is now the greatest quarterback of all time.