Brady threw his 46th postseason touchdown pass Saturday night, trumping the record previously held by 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Montana threw 45 postseason touchdown passes in his career.
Montana is one of the great quarterbacks in NFL history. His 45 postseason touchdown pass record has been one of his many career highlights. He was a longtime quarterback who didn’t falter until the very end.
Much like Montana, Brady is in a similar situation. Despite breaking Montana’s record, Brady has been around for a long time. He stuck by his teammates through the historic wins and terrible losses, which says a lot about his character.
Brady has been playing for the NFL since 2000. For 15 years he has been a member of the New England Patriots. In his early career, Brady took the Patriots to Super Bowl 36, 38 and 39, winning all three in the span of four years.
Although those are the only Super Bowls Brady won, he has had five Super Bowl appearances in 15 years. It may seem like he peaked early in his career but he hasn’t. Like Peyton Manning, Brady has only improved with age.
Time and time again, he has helped rebuild the team. The Patriots are not a team you can ever count out. A reliable teammate, Brady is the figurehead of their powerful program. In 2012, coach Bill Belichick said there is no other quarterback like him in the league.
“There’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady,” he said. “He’s the best. He does so much for us in so many ways on so many different levels. I’m very fortunate that he’s our quarterback and what he’s able to do for this team. It’s good to win with him and all the rest of our players. If that’s more than somebody else did, I don’t really care about that.”
Despite what some may feel toward him, Brady is becoming one of the great football players; he may even already be one. For a man to stick with his team for 15 years shows how dedicated he is to the sport. It’s not about breaking records. It’s about making an impact on history.
