Tom Brady might be 40 years old, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping him from outplaying even the younger version of himself.
Brady went out on Sunday and set NFL and personal best records during New England’s win over the Saints, including throwing three touchdowns in the first quarter, which were the most he’s ever thrown in the opening quarter during his entire career.
He finished the afternoon passing for 447 yards, the third most of his career and it was also the 10th time in his NFL tenure he eclipsed the 400-yard passing mark. He missed just nine passes on the day, completing 30-of-39 and finished with a quarterback rating of 139.6. He also hit his final seven passes.
Brady added another milestone after he joined Warren Moon as the only quarterback age 40-or-older in NFL history to pass for at least 400 yards and three touchdowns in a game, according to Elias Sports.
More importantly, he moved ahead of Peyton Manning after Mike Reiss of ESPN pointed out that Brady set the NFL record for most games with 3 touchdowns and 0 INTs at 52, putting himself in the record books ahead of the retired quarterback.
The veteran quarterback kicked things off early, marching down the field on New England’s first drive and they punched it in thanks to a perfect throw from Brady to Rex Burkhead, with the running back taking it in from 19-yards out to put them up 6-0 after Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra point.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/909465853527080960
But one of the biggest plays of the day came on the next drive, with Brady facing pressure on a 3rd-and-6 from their own 47-yard line. Brady saw Gronkowski wide open and the veteran tight end did the rest, completing the 53-yard pass play by battling his way into the end zone.
GET. OFF. HIM.
Oh my goodness, @robgronkowski. #GoPats #NEvsNO https://t.co/dEcwEUWVC1
— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2017
Chris Hogan scored on the next drive, after Phillip Dorsett’s 23 yard reception helped get New England down into scoring territory. From there, Hogan caught a 13-yard strike from Brady for their third score, and just like that, the rout was on after the Patriots went up 20-3 and never looked back.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/909473445066399744
The best part for Brady was the fact he was able to have such a big day in front of an incredible amount of Patriots fans who made the trip to New Orleans in support of their team. He acknowledged them after the game, and admitted it made for a fun afternoon.
“That was good,” said Brady. “Hopefully they are all on Bourbon Street. It is a good road game to come to. I heard them. There was a lot kind of spread out on that first level. It was great to see that support. We’ve had that a different places and it was fun. It’s always great coming on the road and it starts with all the crowd noise and the momentum and then at the end they are cheering for our team. It was a great way to end the game.”
Add another HISTORIC performance to The Legend of Tom Brady. #GoPats https://t.co/aYYJVomKau
— NFL (@NFL) September 17, 2017
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
