Tom Brady Will Set Three NFL Records Early in the 2021 Season but He Likely Doesn’t Want One of Them
Over the course of 21 seasons with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has essentially rewritten the NFL record book as it pertains to quarterbacks, both in the regular season and postseason. But despite all of the records he’s set over the course of his career, there are still a few out there he doesn’t yet own. However, assuming he stays healthy, Brady will add three more to his resume before the 2021 NFL season even reaches its halfway point. But he’d likely rather do without one of them.
Tom Brady will set the NFL record for the most regular-season games played by a quarterback in Week 2
ln 21 seasons with the Pats and Bucs, Brady has played 301 regular-season games, the second-most by a quarterback in NFL history behind only three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre, who played 302 over the course of his 20-year career with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings.
So it obviously won’t take long for Brady to surpass Favre’s record as he’ll break the mark in Week 2 of the 2021 campaign when Tampa Bay hosts Atlanta at Raymond James Stadium on September 19. TB12 already owns the record for most regular-season starts, not only by a quarterback but of any player in NFL history with 299, one better than Favre’s 298.
Combining the regular season and postseason, Brady is already the all-time leader in games played by an NFL quarterback as he’s appeared in a record 45 playoff games, including 10 Super Bowls, bringing his overall total to 346. Favre appeared in 24 postseason games in his career, bringing his overall total to 326.
Brady could set the regular-season all-time passing yards record against the Patriots in Week 4
Coming into the 2021 season, Brady has thrown for 79,204 yards in the regular season, putting him just 1,154 yards behind Drew Brees for the most in NFL history.
And here’s the beautiful part about TB12 breaking this record.
In 2020, Brady averaged 289.6 passing yards per game. If he maintains that same pace in 2021, he would break the record in Week 4 as he would end the week with 1,158 yards for the year, making him the all-time leader by four yards. And who do the Bucs play in Week 4? That’s right…the Patriots…in New England. You just can’t write stuff like that.
Once again, however, if you were to combine the regular season and postseason, Brady is already the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards as he’s thrown for a record 12,449 yards in the playoffs, bringing his overall total to 91,653. Brees threw for 5,366 yards in 18 postseason appearances, bringing his overall total to 85,724.
TB12 is on the verge of breaking Brett Favre’s NFL record for the most times sacked
This is obviously the NFL record Brady would likely rather not own, the NFL record for the most times sacked.
Coming into the 2021 season, TB12 has been sacked 521 times in the regular season, only four short of Favre’s NFL record of 525. In 2020, Brady was sacked 21 times in 16 games, which averages out to 1.31 per game. If that pace holds up, that mark would also fall in Week 4 when Brady returns to New England for his first matchup against the Patriots.
Yet again, taking both the regular season and postseason into account, the five-time Super Bowl MVP already owns this record as well as he’s been sacked a record 72 times in the playoffs, bringing his overall total to 593. Favre’s overall total is 561 as he was sacked 36 times in 24 playoff games.
Brady and the Bucs open the 2021 season on Thursday, September 9, at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
