By retiring “forever,” Tom Brady is turning a page in history. The quarterback left his mark on the NFL in many ways in the 23 seasons he’s pitched the ball.
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Here are seven great moments from the “GOAT” career:
1. Drew Bledsoe falls in battle
When Tom Brady was drafted 199th overall in 2000, no one could have predicted that he would become the best quarterback in NFL history.
It took another player’s misfortune to begin Brady’s legendary journey. On September 23, 2001, New England Patriots starter Drew Bledsoe took a heavy tackle and suffered severe internal bleeding. Brady was sent into the fight and Bledsoe was never the “Pats” starter again after that.
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2. The first Super Bowl
A few months after taking the reins of the New England assault, Brady led his team to Super Bowl XXXVI. For the occasion, the Patriots squared off against the mighty St. Louis Rams, a formation that inherited the nickname “best show on the turf” that year.
The Rams tied the game by 14 straight points in the fourth quarter but left Brady with 90 seconds on the clock. The player, who was very inexperienced at the time, completed five of the eight passes he attempted to allow kicker Adam Vinatieri to go into the final play of the game with a winning field goal.
That day, the other NFL teams began to understand that Brady should never be believed to have been beaten while there was still time in the game.
3. A historic season
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In 2007, after two more Super Bowl wins, Tom Brady was at the top of his individual game. This allowed the Patriots to maintain an unblemished 16-0 regular-season record. Only three other football teams have accomplished such a feat, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears.
Coming back to 2007’s Brady, the quarterback broke the record for most touchdown passes at 50. That season, he won the first of his three NFL Most Valuable Player Awards.
However, Brady and the Pats’ 2007 campaign ended in a 17–14 Super Bowl XLII loss to the New York Giants.
4. The climax of a rivalry
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Brady played most of his career in the NFL alongside another great quarterback, Peyton Manning. Fans had a chance to see the two men engage in some great battles throughout the season.
The two friends faced each other 17 times and Brady had a best 11 times. If we have to remember a single game in which Brady was spectacular against Manning, it was November 24, 2013. After two quarters, trailing 24-0, the “Pats” and Brady came back from behind to win in of overtime with 34:31 against Manning Denver Broncos. The Patriots offense had 31 unanswered points before Manning leveled the score to force overtime. However, it was Brady who had the last word in overtime.
5. A historic comeback
Super Bowl LI is Brady’s penultimate championship with the Patriots, but certainly the most spectacular. Midway through the third quarter, the center and his team were 3:28 behind the Atlanta Falcons.
Brady shrugged off that 25-point deficit and allowed his offense to grab four touchdowns on as many possessions to finish the game 28-28 after four regular quarters. With a bit of luck, Brady got the ball first in overtime. The “Pats” offense traversed 75 yards en route to the pay zone and made the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
6. He leaves Foxborough
In the post-2019 campaign offseason, Brady sent shockwaves through the NFL world. The 40-year-old left the Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In doing so, he turned his back on head coach Bill Belichick and ended one of the most prolific clubs in the sporting world. The two men lifted the Vince Lombardi Cup six times together.
GOAT fans in New England have only had one chance to see Brady in a different uniform from the Pats at Gillette Stadium. On October 3, 2002, the seven-ring Super Bowl holder did what he’s done his entire career: a game-winning push in the final minutes of the game. He let the “Bucs” win 19-17.
7. The final triumph
In his first season with the Buccaneers, Brady experienced the ecstasy of winning his seventh Super Bowl game. On this occasion he met the Kansas City Chiefs and a certain Patrick Mahomes. Many argued that this duel represented a change of power and that the Chiefs’ young lynchpin would be the next “GOAT.” It was a misunderstanding by Brady, who threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 31-9 Bucs dominance.
By winning with a club other than the Patriots, Brady cemented his legacy as the greatest of all time. With seven wins under his belt, the quarterback has won more than any other team in the NFL.