Tom Brady has now thrown more TDs in his forties than in his twenties

Of all the amazing things Tom Brady has done in his career, his touchdown pass total in his forties has to be the most improbable.

There is absolutely no doubt that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in pro football history. If there was any doubt, Brady’s work in his forties should put it to rest. Coming into the Buccaneers’ Week 8 game against a Saints team that picked Brady off five times over two games in the 2020 season, Brady led the league in attempts (303), completions (203), and touchdown passes (21), with just three interceptions. Only Matthew Stafford had a higher DYAR this season than Brady’s through Week 7, and only Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Kyler Murray had higher DVOA. When you’re playing your best football at age 44… well, who else can say that, especially when the bar has been set so high?

And with this seven-yard pass from Brady to Giovani Bernard with 5:33 left in the third quarter, Brady did something that may never be echoed as long as football is played. This touchdown, as long as it took as Brady continued his usual struggles against the Saints’ defense as the Buccaneers quarterback, gave him 148 since he turned 40. In his twenties with the Patriots, a stretch that went from 2000 through 2006, Brady threw 147 touchdowns. Thus, Brady has officially thrown more touchdown passes in his forties than he did in his twenties.

How utterly insane is this? Consider that Drew Brees ranks second in touchdown passes in his forties, and Brees, who retired after the 2020 season, had 51. Brett Favre and Warren Moon each had 44 in their forties before they hung ’em up. Vinny Testaverde, improbably, had 31 touchdown passes in his forties. George Blanda had 22, Sonny Jurgensen had 11, and Doug Flutie had 10. That’s the entire list of quarterbacks who have had double-digit touchdown passes in their forties. Every quarterback not named Tom Brady combined? 261 touchdown passes in their forties, which means that when Brady threw his 148th touchdown pass in his forties, he was responsible for 36.2% of those 409 total touchdowns.

Of all the amazing things Brady has done in his career, this has to be the one thing that raises him above the pack more than anything else.