C’mon now, Tom Brady can’t really be better than ever at age 44, can he? Common sense says no, but the numbers would disagree. Brady’s performance in his debut season in Tampa Bay last year exceeded the 16-game averages for his career. With that in mind, we figured it might be fun to compare Brady’s weekly numbers in 2021 (at 44) with his stats in 2011 (at 34) and 2001 (at 24).
The 24-year-old Brady in Game 13
Not one of Brady’s better days, but no one in New England was complaining. The Patriots beat the Browns 27-16 for their third straight victory, keeping them just behind Miami in the AFC East. Brady was 19-of-28 for 218 yards, but threw two costly interceptions. The first was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Corey Fuller and gave Cleveland an early 10-3 lead. Brady went 5-of-5 on the next drive to tie the score, but threw another interception in the third quarter while trying to force a play. That interception led to a field goal that cut the score to 20-13. “That was just a bad play,” Brady said. “Sometimes, taking a sack isn’t all that bad, especially on third and long.”
The 34-year-old Brady in Game 13
One of the more fascinating sideline moments of Brady’s career. After throwing a critical interception in what eventually would be a 34-27 victory against Washington, Brady was lecturing receiver Tiquan Underwood about not being more aggressive going after the ball. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien stepped in, and he and Brady got into a shouting match, with the coach ripping off his headset in anger. Several people tried to move O’Brien away before Bill Belichick had to get involved to break it up. “I threw a pretty bad interception so he wasn’t happy with that,” Brady said later. “It was probably a long line of coaches and players that were pretty pissed with me after that, but Billy got to me first so he let me have it. I deserved it.”
The 44-year-old Brady in Game 13
Has there ever been a surer bet in sports than Tom Brady vs. Buffalo? He is the boogeyman parents in upstate New York tell their children about. The Bucs may have collapsed in the second half, and it took an overtime drive to pull it off, but Brady stabbed the Bills in the heart again Sunday. After the 33-27 victory, Brady is now 33-3 in his career against the Bills. Since their first meeting against Brady as a starting quarterback in 2001, the Bills are two games above .500 against every other NFL passer. And they are 30 games below .500 against the GOAT.
Season totals through Game 13
Brady in 2001
Completed 217-of-330 for 2,300 yards, with 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions and an 8-3 record.
Brady in 2011
Completed 328-of-496 for 4,273 yards, with 33 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 10-3 record.
Brady in 2021
Completed 378-of-554 for 4,134 yards, with 36 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 10-3 record.
The breakdown
No quarterback over the age of 40 has ever averaged more than 300 yards passing per game in NFL history. For that matter, no quarterback over the age of 39 has done it. Or 38. And here comes Brady, at 44, averaging 318 yards in 2021. This is not just unprecedented, it is unreal. Brady is on his way to leading the NFL in passing yards for the first time since 2017. And, oh by the way, he’s rushed for 69 yards this season, which is Brady’s highest total since he was spry young man of 34 in 2011.
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John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.
![Photos: Bucs vs Bills, Week 14, at Raymond James Stadium](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 9"/%3E "Photos: Bucs vs Bills, Week 14, at Raymond James Stadium")
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) take on the Buffalo Bills (7-5) in a top-10 matchup entering week 14 as the league enters the final five games of the year.
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