Ranking Tom Brady's greatest seasons
Over the past few years it has become abundantly clear that Tom Brady is the greatest NFL player of all time. A seven-time Super Bowl champion, 15-time Pro Bowler, and multiple record holder, Brady has defined excellence at his position for multiple decades.
Even at 44-years-old, Brady led the league in attempts, completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. In light of his imminent retirement, join us now as we pay tribute to the GOAT by ranking Tom Brady's greatest seasons.
5. 2016 (New England Patriots)
Tom Brady began the 2016 season off the field, serving a four-game suspension for the aftermath of "Deflategate", in which the Patriots were found to have violated integrity and fairness rules of the NFL to gain a perceived advantage. Following his suspension, Brady effectively went scorched earth on the League.
In just 12 games, Brady threw for 296 yards per game, and threw just two interceptions in 432 attempts, good for the fourth-lowest interception rate in league history.
Brady accumulated his second-highest passer rating of any season, and capped his season with an improbable comeback in the Super Bowl to defeat the Atlanta Falcons after falling behind 28-3 early.
February 5, 2017
— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) February 5, 2021
Patriots defy all odds and come back from down 25 points (28-3) with just 17+ minutes remaining in regulation, to win the Super Bowl (34-28) over the stunned Atlanta Falcons
Craziest, and I mean craziest comeback I have ever seen pic.twitter.com/BTPUVa7VaI
4. 2010 (New England Patriots)
Completely healed from a knee injury that many thought would spell the end of his career, Brady paired up with a multitude of weapons in 2010 to deliver his third highest season in terms of passer rating.
Brady led the league in touchdowns, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, and passer rating in 2010, ultimately winning the NFL MVP award for his excellence.
Thanksgiving 2010 featured an all-time uniform matchup between the @Patriots & Lions...
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) November 27, 2019
And an all-time @TomBrady Turkey Day performance: 341 yards, 4 TDs, 158.3 (perfect) passer rating. #GoPats (Nov. 25, 2010) pic.twitter.com/oea10iEs1Y
The Patriots would rather shockingly lose in the Divisional Round to an excellent New York Jets defense, but Brady led them to a 14-2 record and dominated the league leading up to their playoff exit.
3. 2020 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
At 43-years-old and departed from the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick, there was plenty of concern that Brady would show his age at a new franchise.
Instead, Brady would go on to win a Super Bowl and put forth numbers comparable to many of his years in New England. To have done so in a new system with a new group of players was impressive in its own right, but the playoff run he put together also cemented his legendary status and proved to all that he could be great without the New England "system" that made him so successful for two decades.
“The Vince Lombardi Trophy is staying in Tampa Bay!” 🏆
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) June 9, 2021
NFL Game Day All-Access: Super Bowl LV took home the Sports Emmy award for Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage this year! 👏 pic.twitter.com/GIXKqcxUuX
2. 2017 (New England Patriots)
Brady would become the oldest player to win the NFL MVP award in 2017 as he led the league in completions and yards.
According to Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value statistic, it actually ranked as his second most valuable season of his career.
2007. 2010. 2017.
— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2021
What was @TomBrady's best MVP season with New England? (via @nflthrowback)
📺: #TBvsNE -- Sunday 8:20pm ET on NBC
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/RCi7fn06w2
Brady set a Super Bowl record with 505 passing yards in a shocking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and demonstrated that age would not be a hindrance to his effectiveness anytime soon.
1. 2007 (New England Patriots)
Without a doubt the greatest season of his career, Brady paired with Randy Moss in 2007 to absolutely destroy the rest of the league offensively.
November 18, 2007
— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) November 18, 2020
Randy Moss has 4 TD catches from Tom Brady, in the FIRST HALF, as the Patriots just barely squeak by the Bills (56-10)
Patriots move to (10-0) pic.twitter.com/ojG3u2wYrp
Brady had his highest completion percentage of his career at 68.9%, led the league with 4,806 passing yards, set a record with a mind-blowing 50 touchdowns (until Peyton Manning broke his record in 2013), and added four game-winning drives as the Patriots went undefeated until their shocking loss to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
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