INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Brady Sharper than Ever in 2016
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New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
For a player who missed a quarter of the season, Tom Brady hit the ground running and never looked back in 2016 as he finished with one of his best statistical seasons of his career.
The veteran quarterback finished with an incredible touchdown to interception ratio, throwing 28 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions, a new all-time NFL record. What’s more impressive is the fact that mark was one touchdown better than the number Nick Foles put up in 2013 in a full season, with Foles throwing 27 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
He also finished with a 67% completion percentage after completing 291-of-432 for 3554 yards, his second-best completion percentage in a season of his career, just behind just his record-breaking 2007 season (68.9%).
When looking at it closer with his performance by down and by quarter, Brady was also consistent across the board:
2016 TOTALS BY DOWN & QUARTER:
1st Down: 108/160 (68%) 1333yds 11 TDs 1 INT
2nd Down: 99/146 (68%) 903yds 6TDs
3rd Down: 82/123 (67%) 1289yds 11TDs 1 INT
4th Down: 2/3 (67%) 29yds
1st QTR: 76/111 (68%) 756yds 8TDs
2nd QTR: 91/136 (67%) 1067yds 9TDs 2INTs
3rd QTR: 68/101 (67%) 932yds 7TDs
4th QTR: 56/84 (67%) 799yds 4TDs
His accuracy in the red zone was also up from last season, with Brady raising his completion percentage by five percentage points and completing nearly 70% of his attempts:
RED ZONE TOTALS:
2016 Regular Season: 43/62 (69%) 288yds 20 TDs 1INT
2015 Regular Season: 53/83 (64%) 388yds 27 TDs 3 INTs
An interesting note when looking at his red zone totals by quarter, Brady missed just one attempt in the 1st quarter this season, and just three in the third, with those two spans being his best of 2016:
RED ZONE TOTALS BY QUARTER:
1ST QTR: 11/12 (92%) 71yds 7TDs
2ND QTR: 17/27 (63%) 121yds 7TDs 1INT
3RD QTR: 8/11 (73%) 57yds 4TDs
4TH QTR: 7/12 (58%) 39yds 2TDs
Not bad for a player who some felt was ready for a major drop off. He’s had a terrific year, and now we’ll see if he can continue that success when the Patriots begin their playoff drive next Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.