FOXBOROUGH — When Tom Brady hangs up his cleats, Jan. 1, 2012 may only be just a footnote in his career. But it was an historic day nonetheless.
Throwing for 328 yards and three touchdowns, Brady surpassed the 5,000-yard threshold on the season, and in doing so, led the Patriots to a 49-21 comeback win over the Buffalo Bills to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
He’s the third quarterback in NFL history to have passed for more than 5,000 yards, finishing the season with 5,235 to couple his 39 touchdown throws. He surpassed the mark with a 39-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez in the second quarter.
Dan Marino held the NFL record for passing yards in a single season for 27 years, throwing for 5,084 in 1984. That record was broken last week by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who finished the year with the new record, 5,476 yards, Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. (Detroit’s Matthew Stafford also finished the year with more than 5,000 yards passing, eclipsing the mark on Sunday with 500-yard passing performance.)
Brady also reached the 300-touchdown milestone Sunday, tying him with John Elway for fifth all-time in NFL history. The significance of all of which is not lost on Brady, but not nearly as important to him as winning.
“I play this game for one reason and it’s to win,” Brady said. “There’s nothing more important to me than that. As a quarterback you do everything you can do to help this team win. When your number is called upon to go out and execute certain plays, that’s what you’re expected to do. It’s not something I think about, it’s not something I ever [think], ‘Man, I love throwing touchdowns,’ or ‘I love throwing for yards.’ I love winning and that helps me sleep at night.”
In retrospect, the 2011 season won’t match up to 2007’s perfect regular season run. Brady may only be worried about Super Bowl wins at the end of the day. He’s burning for a fourth title, one which eluded him in 2007. But he does credit his successes to the abundance of talent around him. Rob Gronkowski, who recorded an NFL record 1,327 yards receiving this year for a tight end, has certainly made things easier for him. As has Wes Welker, who finished the year with 122 catches and 1,569 yards receiving. And one can’t forget Hernandez, who had his third 100-yard receiving day Sunday of the season.
“Our passing game has been obviously a big strongpoint of this team,” Brady said. “The pass catchers and the blockers have been great and we’ve run the ball great, too, at times. That’s what it takes – a complementary offense. You run it and we throw it when we need to throw it and we can be effective. You have to stay balanced and those guys have done a great job all year doing stuff with it.”
For Patriots coach Bill Belichick, much like Brady, there’s a tendency to gloss over individual accomplishments and focus in on the wins. But they are acknowledged, if only so slightly. When asked to comment about Brady’s year as well as Gronkowski’s record – much like he’s been asked about their achievements all year long – Belichick didn’t give up much. But he at least acknowledged it.
“They’ve obviously had great years,” Belichick said. “No question, they’ve had great years.”
His attention, just like Brady’s, is on winning the next game.
