It is impossible to have a conversation about who the greatest quarterback of all time is without stirring up some controversy. First of all, anyone who understands the game enough to make such a claim is obviously a fan, and as such, has personal attachments. If you asked one hundred fans of the San Francisco 49ers who the greatest quarterback of all time was, most of them would say Joe Montana. The same can be said for the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning or the Miami Dolphins and Dan Marino. People will always want to believe that their favorite is the best. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The passion of the fans is what makes the NFL the most popular sport in the country.
What makes this argument even more difficult is that there’s no obvious algorithm to determine who the best of all time is. Some quarterbacks, like Marino, had amazing statistical success, but never won a championship. Some quarterbacks, like Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys, won multiple titles, but were statistically mediocre. Then there are some quarterbacks, like Archie Manning of the New Orleans Saints, who just played on bad teams, and never stood a chance.
However, there is one player that seems to have all of the bases covered. There’s one quarterback that has achieved all imaginable forms of success on and off the field. This is why Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.
Tom Brady’s Place Among NFL Quarterback Greats
When Tom Brady first filled in for Drew Bledsoe back in 2001, nobody had the slightest clue what he would become. Nobody could imagine that 15 years later, the young back-up from Michigan would be named to 11 Pro Bowls, be named Most Valuable Player twice, and win four Super Bowls. Nobody knew what we know now, that Tom Brady has the best all-time resume among NFL quarterbacks.
Ultimately, it’s impossible to talk about Tom Brady’s legacy without also talking about Peyton Manning. Despite playing in different divisions for most of their careers, the two quarterbacks faced off 17 times. Of those games, eight were decided by a touchdown or less. While Manning vs. Brady was always entertaining on the field, it’s the off the field discussion that has become one of the NFL’s most popular narratives. There’s an argument to be made for either man being the greatest quarterback of all time, but at the end of the day, the conversation has always ended the same way. Peyton Manning has the statistics, and Tom Brady has the championships.
The Championships
In the illustrious history of the NFL, no quarterback has played in or won more Super Bowls than Tom Brady. When Brady and the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, he tied Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw and Brady’s childhood hero Montana with his fourth Lombardi Trophy. And in all honesty, he easily could have won more.
Tom Brady has played in ten AFC Championship games over the course of his career, including the last five. Despite a four game suspension, Brady and the Patriots are still heavy favorites to be in the conference championship game again, with Vegas giving them 15-2 odds to win the Super Bowl yet again.
Tom Brady is just a winner. His 172 wins are the most any quarterback has had with one team in NFL history, and his 22 playoff wins are the most all-time. He also holds the distinct honor of being the only quarterback in NFL history to have won all 16 regular season games.
The Patriot Way
Of course, it’s impossible to say that someone is the greatest of all time because football is a team game. Aikman won three championships with Dallas, but nobody is comparing him to Brady. Bradshaw has four Super Bowl rings, but nobody outside of Pennsylvania considers him one of the best ever.
The Patriots haven’t had a losing record since 2000, and have won at least ten games in each of their last 13 seasons. Superstars like Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and Rob Gronkowski have lined up for the Patriots on offense, and a slew of Hall of Fame defenders have ran head coach Bill Belichick’s defense. Speaking of the controversial coach, Belichick is a three-time NFL Coach of The Year award winner, has the record for most playoff wins, and the fewest losses of any coach with at least 200 wins.
So while it’s impressive that Brady has won as much as he has, football is a team game. His contributions to these games may have been vital, but without a flux capacitor, it’s impossible to know if they could have won without him. Fortunately, that’s where statistics come in.
Statistics
It’s unlikely that Tom Brady will surpass Peyton Manning’s regular season records. Brady will be 39 years old when the season starts, and he trails Manning by 13,912 yards and 111 touchdowns. Brady would have to perfectly maintain his average of 4,139 yards and 31 touchdowns in a season for four more years just to pass Manning. On the other hand, Manning has also thrown 101 more interceptions than Brady, and at his pace, it would take New England’s future Hall of Famer nine years to catch up.
In a way, that fun fact defines Brady’s statistical brilliance. While he hasn’t always been a fantasy juggernaut like Manning or New Orleans’ Drew Brees, his efficiency has made him unstoppable. Nobody in NFL history has had as many games (13) with a quarterback rating of at least 145 than Brady, and Brady managed to throw his 400th touchdown with 14 fewer passes than Manning did. No man has thrown touchdowns to more receivers (56 and counting) than Brady has in his career.
Shockingly, Brady owns just about every playoff passing record. He holds the records for most completions (683), yards (7,957), touchdowns (56), and wins (22) in the playoffs. Of course, it helps that he also holds the record for most playoff games started by a quarterback (31), but as any Oakland Raiders fan can tell you, making the playoffs is no small feat. Beyond the playoffs, Brady also holds all of the Super Bowl records, for the same reason. In his record six Super Bowl appearances, Brady has passed for more yards (1,605) and touchdowns (13) than any other quarterback in history.
“Anything you can do…”
Between 2013 and 2014, the Seattle Seahawks did fans a huge favor. They gave the four best quarterbacks in football a similar challenge. Brees, Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Brady all faced off against the vaunted Legion of Boom in the playoffs.
Unlike Brady, Brees is hot on Manning’s tail for the yardage record. Brees is two years younger than Brady, has thrown for at least 4,800 yards in each of the last five seasons and only trails Manning by 11,037 yards. Despite being one of the game’s best, Seattle’s secondary held him to one touchdown and a measly seven yards per completion in their 2014 playoff game.
But that wasn’t as impressive as three weeks later, when that same Seahawks defense would disarm the best offense in NFL history. During the 2013 NFL season, Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos set records for the most touchdowns (76), first downs (436), and yards (7,317) in a season. Apparently someone forgot to tell Seattle, because in Super Bowl XLVIII, they held him to 280 yards and a single score while picking him off twice and forcing a safety.
The following year, the Seahawks were given another test in Rodgers. In 2014, Rodgers’ 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns, and five interceptions were good enough to earn him the prestigious league MVP award. The hardware didn’t help him in Seattle though. Despite the fact that the Seahawks turned the ball over five times and star cornerback Richard Sherman was essentially playing with one arm, Rodgers was held to less than 200 yards one score, and multiple interceptions.
Two weeks later, Tom Brady got his shot at Seattle in the post-season. Unlike Brees, Rodgers, or his biggest rival, Brady was pretty much the same player. While the game will be remembered for Pete Carroll‘s decision to throw the ball on the one yard line, it’s worth noting that Brady played a phenomenal game. Opting to take what Seattle was giving him instead of forcing plays, Brady was able to throw for well over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Where the other elite quarterbacks failed, Brady thrived.
The Comeback Kid
Ultimately, Tom Brady’s legacy will be that he was the greatest clutch quarterback of all time. Even for casual fans of the NFL, Brady’s late game heroics are well known.
In all four of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl wins, the Patriots have either been tied or trailed in the fourth quarter. The St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks have all had to watch Brady lead his team down the field late without breaking a sweat. Two years ago, the Broncos were up 24-0 against the Patriots at half-time, only to watch Brady storm back and win the game, throwing for 344 and three touchdowns in the second half.
The Patriots offense has changed dramatically over Brady’s tenure, but no matter what, number 12 always keeps it together. From Deion Branch to Randy Moss to Rob Gronkowski, Brady has always gotten the best out of his teammates and should be remembered as the greatest to ever play.
