Tom Brady breaks George Blanda’s record as oldest QB to throw a postseason touchdown

Since January 3, 1971, George Blanda held the record as the oldest quarterback to throw a postseason touchdown. Tom Brady just broke it.

In the second quarter of the 1970 AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the Oakland Raiders on January 3, 1971, Oakland starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica was pulled out of the game after a massive hit from Colts defensive end Bubba Smith knocked Lamonica out of the game. In came George Blanda, who had been in pro football since 1949 (!) and would last until 1976. In that game, Blanda — who had been responsible for several thrilling Raiders wins in the 1970 season both as a quarterback and as the team’s placekicker — completed 17 of 32 passes for two touchdowns, three interceptions, and four sacks in a 27-17 Colts win.

Blanda came up short, but he did set an NFL record that stood until Saturday night. When he hit Fred Biletnikoff for a 38-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, Blanda became the oldest quarterback ever to throw a touchdown pass in the postseason at 43 years and 108 days.

When Tom Brady threw this 36-yard pass to Antonio Brown with 2:51 left in the first quarter of the Buccaneers’ wild-card game against the Washington Football Team, he broke Blanda’s record by 51 days.

As Colleen Wolfe of the NFL Network pointed out, 43 is a different age than it used to be. Blanda, a delightfully grumpy guy who tended to follow his own training regimen, probably wouldn’t be into the TB12 program.