Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.
Football News

The 12 Moments That Defined Tom Brady’s Legendary Career

February 2, 2022

After 22 seasons of racking up countless individual bests and seven Super Bowls, Tom Brady has officially decided to hang up.

A very big page is turning, as much for him as for the fans as well as the whole world of the NFL.

A look back at these 12 moments that define the career of the man who is considered the greatest player in the history of American football.

#1 – Sixth Round, 199th Pick

This is perhaps the greatest proof that the NFL Draft is not an exact science. In 2000, when he left the University of Michigan, Tom Brady was unknown to the battalion. Absolutely no one imagines he will become a star quarterback in the league, let alone the greatest quarterback of all time. He was even the second-slowest pitcher at the 40-yard dash in the NFL Scouting Combine that year. Eventually, Brady is selected by the New England Patriots in the…sixth round, with the 199th pick. In the famous video game “Madden NFL 2000”, he appears as “QB No.12”, with a rating of 57 and no photo.

#2 – Drew Bledsoe out, Tom Brady in

A career is sometimes played out on details, on facts of the game, on opportunities that arise when you don’t necessarily expect them. On September 23, 2001, while the Patriots were guided by quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the latter was seriously injured on a heavy tackle from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.

This action will forever represent the turning point that allowed Tom Brady’s career to take off. So in his second NFL season, Brady takes the starting spot and will never leave it again.

#3 – “The Tuck Rule Game”

One of the most controversial actions in NFL history, and Tom Brady is in on it. During the Playoffs of the 2001 season, the Patriots welcome the Raiders under the snow and the game is very tight. Two minutes from the end, when the score indicated 13-10 for Oakland, Brady was tackled by Charles Woodson and released the ball. It looks like a fumble overlaid by the Raiders, and then the Patriots are thought to be doomed.

Except that Brady and his team will be saved by a new rule put in place in 1999 and on which the referees will base themselves to transform the fumble into an incomplete pass. New England recovers the ball and ends up prevailing in this match which is since baptized “The Tuck Rule Game”.

#4 – The first Super Bowl

The controversial victory against the Raiders represents the first stage of the Patriots’ magical journey in the 2001 Playoffs. Tom Brady and his team will then take over the Steelers to earn their place in the Super Bowl, where hardly anyone sees them beat the machine offense that the Rams are.

“We thought they had no chance against us” would declare St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk many years later.

And yet. The Patriots will create the surprise by winning 20-17 on a field goal at the last second, field goal obtained after a drive full of composure from Tom Brady. He was named MVP of the game and became the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.

#5 – Back-to-back

To hope to win a Super Bowl, the planets must truly align. To win two in a row, the whole galaxy must act in your favor. The proof, it’s been almost two decades since the NFL has seen a team perform the back-to-back. The last to accomplish this feat? The Patriots of Tom Brady, winners of the 2003 season against the Panthers then that of 2004 against the Eagles.

Each time, New England won by three small points. And just like against the Rams, Brady picked up a second MVP with his second league title, again thanks to a game-winning drive in the final seconds.

#6 – The (almost) perfect season

” Greatest team in NFL history. It was with these words that Tom Brady called the Patriots 2007 a few years ago. That season, New England won 16 games out of 16 in the regular season and Brady sent no less than 50 passing touchdowns (personal best and NFL record at the time), including 23 for Randy Moss alone. He is named MVP and guides the Pats to a new Super Bowl, where they can make history by becoming the first NFL team to finish a season 19-0. But the New York Giants will shatter their dreams of a perfect season by winning 17-14 behind a huge defense, Brady being sacked five times in total.

#7 – The cracking knee

The following year, Tom Brady returned with revenge but his season ended as quickly as it began. In the very first game against the Chiefs, Brady suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament on a knee sack. Without him, the Patriots will not be able to qualify for the Playoffs, despite a season with eleven wins and five losses.

After this episode, the NFL will decide to put in place a new rule sanctioning defenders who make tackles in the legs of a quarterback. In the jargon, we speak of the “Tom Brady Rule”.

#8 – The comeback against the “Legion of Boom”

After two Super Bowls lost against the New York Giants, Tom Brady is back on the biggest stage during the 2014 season. Facing him? One of the most formidable defenses in history: the “Legion of Boom” of Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas.

So when the Patriots trail Seattle 24-14 in the fourth quarter, their chances of turning the tide seem slim and Brady is heading for a third straight loss. But that’s when he puts on his future GOAT costume by guiding two consecutive drives to a touchdown. 28-24 for New England, and then Malcolm Butler will take care of the rest.

#9 – The “Deflategate”

As great as Tom Brady’s career has been, it’s not without controversy. “The Tuck Rule Game”, “Spygate” and of course “Deflategate” are also included, this last episode even resulting in a four-game suspension for Brady at the start of the 2016 season.

At the time, the Patriots were flagged and then sanctioned for intentionally deflating balloons during the 2014 AFC Conference Finals, in an attempt to favor Brady – accused of complicity – against Andrew Luck’s Colts.

#10 – 28-3

Tom Brady’s 2016 season begins with a four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate. It ends with probably the greatest comeback in NFL history. Led 28-3 against the Falcons, the Patriots will make a fantastic comeback to snatch the extension before winning in overtime, a first (and last for the moment) in a Super Bowl. Never had a team overcome such a deficit on the biggest stage.

A scene that will see Brady leave with a fourth title of MVP of the game, after having accumulated 466 passing yards (NFL record for a Super Bowl, which will be beaten by… Brady the following year) in 43 successful throws out of 62 attempted ( also NFL records for a Super Bowl).

#11 – The end of an era

Winning a sixth Super Bowl against the Rams at the end of the 2018 season, Tom Brady is aiming for seven the following year. But the 2019 campaign is marked by disputes with his longtime manager Bill Belichick, and we seem to be getting closer and closer to the end of an era.

This era officially ends with the first game of the Playoffs against the Titans. In front of their audience, the Patriots lost 20-13 and Brady sent an interception in the final seconds which was returned for a touchdown. The last image of Tom in the jersey of New England…

#12 – The 7th and final Super Bowl

His legendary career with the Patriots may have ended on a flop, but Tom Brady finds the light in sunny Tampa Bay, where he will spend his last two NFL seasons. In the premiere, he immediately sent the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl and beat Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, shutting the mouths of those who said he couldn’t win without Bill Belichick’s system.

Seven championship titles in ten appearances at the Super Bowl (NFL records), five times MVP of the big game and three times MVP of the regular season (maybe four soon), no doubt Tom Brady is the greatest.

Bonus: the record of victories (and many others)

Above all else, Tom Brady is considered a winner. So if there is a purely individual record that should be close to his heart among the many he holds, it is that of the greatest number of victories accumulated by a quarterback in the history of the NFL.

In October 2017, Brady surpassed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning for the most regular season wins record, and is now the winningest quarterback in both regular (243) and playoffs (35), well ahead of the competition.

SEE ALSO:  Giants – Cowboys (0-40): Very small Giants
February 2, 2022
Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please disable your ad blocker to be able to see the content of the page. For an independent site with free content, it is literally a matter of life and death to have ads. Thank you for your understanding!