Favorite Brady Game

Mooch · Mar 17, 2020

Super Bowl 53. Because I was there with my son and while it was not a vintage Brady performance by any stretch, that throw to Gronk to set up the winning TD gave me more joy than any sports moment I've ever seen in person.

cshea · Mar 17, 2020

Probably some recency bias, but the 2019 AFCCG in Arrowhead. Three straight gotta-have-it touchdown drives in the belly of the beast. Three 3rd and 10's on the final drive. Just a remarkable performance.

EL Jeffe · Mar 17, 2020

A less obvious one, that stands out to me, was the 2018 AFCC vs. Jacksonville. When they clinched it after the late Dion Lewis run, I punched my wall and shouted "TOM BRADY!" over and over. I scared the crap out of my family. It was just complete joy. I'm not sure why that game was the one that made me react in the moment like that, but it did.

E5 Yaz · Mar 17, 2020

Super Bowl 51

Simply for the fact that all the doubts had their knives sharpened at 28-3, ready to call him over the hill and a product of a system ... and he shoved all that nonsense down their throats by sheer will.

Jed Zeppelin · Mar 17, 2020

cshea said:
Probably some recency bias, but the 2019 AFCCG in Arrowhead. Three straight gotta-have-it touchdown drives in the belly of the beast. Three 3rd and 10's on the final drive. Just a remarkable performance.

Will have to rewatch this again but the late game drives in that one probably caused more "wtf are we even supposed to do?" reactions from a defense than I have ever seen. Several of those Edelman catches seemed to be perfectly-well covered but the mind meld was insane between those two. Ball right where it needed to be, and Edelman right where he needed to be.

The next closest is probably 28-3, although to be honest by the end, the Falcons D was just totally worn out.

Super Nomario · Mar 17, 2020

EL Jeffe said:
A less obvious one, that stands out to me, was the 2018 AFCC vs. Jacksonville. When they clinched it after the late Dion Lewis run, I punched my wall and shouted "TOM BRADY!" over and over. I scared the crap out of my family. It was just complete joy. I'm not sure why that game was the one that made me react in the moment like that, but it did.

This was one of the first ones that came to mind for me, too. Brady was insane in that game. Cooks (who was otherwise excellent, maybe his best game in a Pats uniform) dropped a long one right in the breadbasket that would have made it even more impressive statistically. They got nothing from the run game (19 for 46). Gronk was out, and he was working against a top-tier defense.

Mueller's Twin Grannies · Mar 17, 2020

Even in the SB loss to the Eagles (thanks to the NFL), Brady was incredibly. Over 500 yards passing and if the catch rules for that game had been the same as the first 20 weeks of the season, they win easily.

But it has to be SB 51.

Hell, even in the 2006 AFCCG loss to the Colts, he was awesome and a Reche Caldwell drop away from going back to the Super Bowl. So hard to pick a favorite.

Beomoose · Mar 17, 2020

It's hard to beat LI for that comeback.

Mystic Merlin · Mar 17, 2020

LI has it.

Also, I think LII was an amazing performance - he was going to flirt with breaking the all time single game passing record - that will be overlooked because the team lost.

tmracht · Mar 17, 2020

E5 Yaz said:
Super Bowl 51

Simply for the fact that all the doubts had their knives sharpened at 28-3, ready to call him over the hill and a product of a system ... and he shoved all that nonsense down their throats by sheer will.

Either this or the First Rams Superbowl just for the shock factor of winning either of them.

Ale Xander · Mar 17, 2020

SB XXXVI

jmcc5400 · Mar 17, 2020

There are so many games and moments to choose from, but the first moment that flashed in my mind was the QB sneak for the game winning touchdown on 4th and 1 in the 2011 AFCCG against Baltimore in which he was absolutely pulverized (two plays after getting crushed on another sneak where the TD call was reversed). Our Uggs-wearing matinee idol QB was one tough MFer.

Sequence starts at around 1:45 here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJZuGgCbrQA

Buck Showalter · Mar 17, 2020

E5 Yaz said:
Super Bowl 51

Simply for the fact that all the doubts had their knives sharpened at 28-3, ready to call him over the hill and a product of a system ... and he shoved all that nonsense down their throats by sheer will.

here here.....I'm fine with this.

67YAZ · Mar 17, 2020

Brady's return from a lost 2008 with the 4th quarter comeback over the Bills on September 14, 2009. Brady was rusty for a lot of the game, but closed out with 12-14 for 112yds and 2TDs, both to Ben Watson. Moss catches 12 passes and forgive me for not being able to find the exact quote...but post-game marveled at Brady walking into the huddle, down 2 TDs, and told the guys, "We're gonna score a touchdown, we're gonna get the ball back, and we're gonna win the game." It was Brady in a nutshell. And the throwback red unis.

Bowhemian · Mar 17, 2020

67YAZ said:
Brady's return from a lost 2008 with the 4th quarter comeback over the Bills on September 14, 2009. Brady was rusty for a lot of the game, but closed out with 12-14 for 112yds and 2TDs, both to Ben Watson. Moss, in his Pats debut, catches 12 passes and forgive me for not being able to find the exact quote...but post-game marveled at Brady walking into the huddle, down 2 TDs, and told the guys, "We're gonna score a touchdown, we're gonna get the ball back, and we're gonna win the game." It was Brady in a nutshell. And the throwback red unis.

Uh, Moss was on the Pats in '07

DennyDoyle'sBoil · Mar 17, 2020

E5 Yaz said:
Super Bowl 51

Simply for the fact that all the doubts had their knives sharpened at 28-3, ready to call him over the hill and a product of a system ... and he shoved all that nonsense down their throats by sheer will.

I think this is right for me. I go back and forth between this and the 2019 AFCCG.

There was a point in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl where Buck realizes that Brady had like the most or almost the most yards ever in a Super Bowl and is just shocked. Wins a Super Bowl throwing more than 50 passes. Who does that? It was amazing.

patinorange · Mar 17, 2020

E5 Yaz said:
Super Bowl 51

Simply for the fact that all the doubts had their knives sharpened at 28-3, ready to call him over the hill and a product of a system ... and he shoved all that nonsense down their throats by sheer will.

Right up there with the Sox winning the Series in 04 ( always number one). I still can't believe the Patriots won that game.
I love Bill, as we all do, but that was Brady, alone. The greatest game in pro football history on the biggest stage.
Good luck Tom.

Salem's Lot · Mar 17, 2020

Super Bowl 51 because I was there, but Super Bowl 49 was maybe my favorite football game of all time.

cornwalls@6 · Mar 17, 2020

51 - The defining game of his career, IMO. The comeback of the ages, in the biggest spot. A microcosm of what he was all about here.

49 - Sometimes lost in all the drama at the end, his two, absolute, money drives in the 4th quarter. Also, competing like an assassin all day against what was still a dominant D, and blocking out all of the deflate-gate crap that week.

2019 AFC title game in Arrowhead - A Late career epic. Despite a couple of very shaky throws that could have turned the game the other way around, another microcosm of who he is: Give him any kind of a second chance , make any kind of a mistake, and he'll kill you.

BigSoxFan · Mar 17, 2020

cornwalls@6 said:
51 - The defining game of his career, IMO. The comeback of the ages, in the biggest spot. A microcosm of what he was all about here.

49 - Sometimes lost in all the drama at the end, his two, absolute, money drives in the 4th quarter. Also, competing like an assassin all day against what was still a dominant D, and blocking out all of the deflate-gate crap that week.

2019 AFC title game in Arrowhead - A Late career epic. Despite a couple of very shaky throws that could have turned the game the other way around, another microcosm of who he is: Give him any kind of a second chance , make any kind of a mistake, and he'll kill you.

I think the KC win will age so incredibly well. Almost like the 1990 Pistons holding off MJ before he destroyed the league in the 1990s. Such a gritty win.

johnmd20 · Mar 17, 2020

cornwalls@6 said:
51 - The defining game of his career, IMO. The comeback of the ages, in the biggest spot. A microcosm of what he was all about here.

49 - Sometimes lost in all the drama at the end, his two, absolute, money drives in the 4th quarter. Also, competing like an assassin all day against what was still a dominant D, and blocking out all of the deflate-gate crap that week.

2019 AFC title game in Arrowhead - A Late career epic. Despite a couple of very shaky throws that could have turned the game the other way around, another microcosm of who he is: Give him any kind of a second chance , make any kind of a mistake, and he'll kill you.

I lost this list. This is my list.

That overtime drive in KC, with three 3rd downs at 9 yards or more, basically knowing if they failed KC was going to score, and Brady drilled 3 perfect passes to move the chains each time. Out of all the drives Brady run, and he ran a LOT of them, this was my favorite.

But the best game was 51. Brady has a margin of error of 0 for the entire last 25 minutes of the game.

cornwalls@6 · Mar 17, 2020

johnmd20 said:
I lost this list. This is my list.

That overtime drive in KC, with three 3rd downs at 9 yards or more, basically knowing if they failed KC was going to score, and Brady drilled 3 perfect passes to move the chains each time. Out of all the drives Brady run, and he ran a LOT of them, this was my favorite.

But the best game was 51. Brady has a margin of error of 0 for the entire last 25 minutes of the game.

I still think back on that night, remember watching it all unfold. Going from being utterly disgusted, about to go home, to complete elation and disbelieve an hour or so later. Just an amazing performance.

Old Fart Tree · Mar 17, 2020

cshea said:
Probably some recency bias, but the 2019 AFCCG in Arrowhead. Three straight gotta-have-it touchdown drives in the belly of the beast. Three 3rd and 10's on the final drive. Just a remarkable performance.

That's where I'm at. That game was some of the best QB play I've ever seen, in a year where they were huge underdogs to a KC juggernaut, on the road, converting crazy 3rd and longs... It was amazing.

RedOctober3829 · Mar 17, 2020

Super Bowl 51
Super Bowl 49
AFCCG's against Chiefs and Jags
Comeback against New Orleans in 2013
Super Bowl 52--500 effing yards
2014 Divisional Game vs. Ravens
2006 AFC Divisional Game at SD(We physical, they finesse game)

Ed Hillel · Mar 17, 2020

It might not be my favorite, but Superbowl 38 continues to be one of the most underrated football games of all time. I'll add the 2004-05 AFCCG in Pitt against the 15-1 Steelers. Coming off coronavirus, Brady goes into Three Rivers and blows them out.

My favorite is probably the 2019 AFCCG in Arrowhead. One last improbable run and he was balls at age 41 when it mattered most.

nayrbrey · Mar 17, 2020

For playoffs, definitely SB 51 & 49, AFCCG Vs Chiefs last year.
As for the regular season....the game 2009 snow bowl game Vs Titans. 29 for 34 380 yards and 6TDs in a snowstorm.

As an honorable mention I still love seeing highlights of his 2000 Orange Bowl OT game Vs Alabama. A sign of what was to come.

Edit-punctuation

grsharky7 · Mar 17, 2020

2014 Divisional Round vs the Ravens. He went 33/50, 367 YDS, 3 TD. I'm not saying it was his best statistical game, but they came back rom 14 down...twice. That pass to LeFell was just epic and then they held on at the end. I just remember watching that night and the crowd sounded so desperate for them to get back to the SB and just win one more. At the time they hadn't won one in a decade and even then people were starting to wonder how long Brady would play. Well low and behold they would win three more titles and get back to the SB one other time, just incredible.

RG33 · Mar 17, 2020

Nothing is close to 28-3 for me. It was the greatest sporting moment of my life, including the remaining 50+ years I hopefully have left. I was in attendance and still when I watch it on replay on my DVR, I can’t believe it happened. I was sitting amidst the Falcons section on the 40 yard line, and they were going nuts with the “Rise Up” stuff, and I just kept shaking my head saying “Don’t go forgetting about Tom Brady” to these 4 dudes behind us. I then kept asking if they were getting nervous, to which they retorted “no” until it was 28-20. They left before the winning TD was scored as the Patriots crossed like the 25 yard line and congratulated me. Everyone knew.

Tom Fucking Brady.

deanx0 · Mar 17, 2020

It doesn't touch any of the playoff games, but I attended the 2002 game against the Bears in Champaign, IL where Chicago was up 27-6 midway through the third quarter and Brady engineered the comeback victory 33-30 so it has a spot in my heart in terms of his best regular-season games.

Was (Not Wasdin) · Mar 17, 2020

So many to pick from, and the playoffs and super bowls were obviously the most special, but I'll add

1. Steelers in 2007-I forget who the Pittsburgh DB who mouthed off was, but Brady shut him right the fcuk up.
2. The "Snow Bowl" game against the Raiders in the playoffs 26 of 39 passes for 238 yards in the second half in a snowstorm.

I have a friend who has been at every home game Tom Brady has ever played for the Pats, including playoffs. Plus Super Bowls (all of them). Every one. Not most. not almost all. All. I havent been there for all of those games, but I"m pretty close-probably 90% of all regular season home games, all playoff games, and some of the superbowls. It's been an amazing ride. When we started going to games in 1993, our kids.....didnt even exist yet. Now we have grad school graduates, who hold their own tailgating with us. It is simply astonishing how long this run has gone on.

Jimbodandy · Mar 17, 2020

Snow Bowl. That's when Brady became TFB. Yeah, Vinatieri's kick and the overturned fumble are the headlines (and AV was magnificent). But Tom dinked and dunked that team back from a 13-3 deficit against a very good Raiders team in mad snow with a whole bunch of JAGs and retreads in his huddle (some studs too, but still). I still don't believe it. It's like ALCS game 4 in 2004 to me.

nighthob · Mar 17, 2020

This game...

snowmanny · Mar 17, 2020

I mean 51 of course. But 49 is thisclose: Brady came back against what I think is the best team and the best defense the Patriots have played in the past 20 years.

tims4wins · Mar 17, 2020

After thinking about this a lot today (too much honestly), I think I have to vote for the 2014 divisional vs the Ravens. At that point it felt like we might never get the 4th despite having gone to the previous 3 AFCCGs. Luck was against us. Coming back from 14-0 and 28-14 gave me hope again. It was just an all time awesome performance in a game in which the Pats didn’t even attempt to run the ball.

Edit: Brady had 6 carries, including a TD. The backs had 7.

Mugsy's Jock · Mar 17, 2020

I was at SB49, but for me it's still SB51. That still doesn't make any sense at all.

Bergs · Mar 17, 2020

What he did in the 4th quarters (and OT) in both XLIX and LI was just insane. Clinical. And he was arguably better than that in LII. If Mason doesn't get blown up, that probably becomes the best game any QB has ever played in the SB. So many memories of this guy. Thinking about all of this has me thinking he's almost UNDERrated. Unbelievable.

soxfaninyankeeland · Mar 17, 2020

deanx0 said:
It doesn't touch any of the playoff games, but I attended the 2002 game against the Bears in Champaign, IL where Chicago was up 27-6 midway through the third quarter and Brady engineered the comeback victory 33-30 so it has a spot in my heart in terms of his best regular-season games.

Yes! Because despite being defending champs, we still lived in a world where 27-6 third quarter deficits and 30-19 deficits with three minutes to go were called “losses”.
The failed two point conversion after the TD that made it 30-25 actually contributed to the win, as on the ensuing drive the Pats faced a 4th and a long 3. Had they converted the two point try, they would have kicked a tying FG on 4th down and given the ball back to the Bears with a minute to go. TB ran a 4 yard QB sneak on that 4th down, then hit David Patten for the game winning TD.

Pandemonium67 · Mar 17, 2020

I'm feeling the stress just thinking back to those greatest TB games, especially the AFFCG Ravens game, the still-incomprehensible 3-28 comeback, and being two scores down to a Legion of Boom D that hadn't given up a 4th quarter TD in like 4 months. And if I'm feeling stress now, years later, knowing that the Pats won, how high was the stress on the field in real time?

That ability to turn pressure into magnificence, to rise to the greatest heights when facing the steepest odds, is what separates Brady. I've never seen anything like it.

shoosh77 · Mar 17, 2020

Fifty-One. Just ripped the heart out the league and destroyed a franchise. I let my kids stay up for the whole thing and don’t think I got to sleep until 3 in the morning.

m0ckduck · Mar 17, 2020

Darkhorse candidate: 2015 AFCCG vs. Broncos. Yes, they lost. But Brady came back against a brutal pass rush with two do-or-die completions to Gronkowski and nearly tied the game on a 2PC. Reportedly, Broncos players were talking in the locker room about Brady's toughness. One of the all-time reference points in terms of TB12's grit.

j-man · Mar 17, 2020

1 SB 36 2 the tuck game 3 the 2015 AFC tittie game let me explain his toughness his will to win 4 2004 DIV Round against manning at home 5 the 2006 Div game @ san diego

Ralphwiggum · Mar 17, 2020

tims4wins said:
After thinking about this a lot today (too much honestly), I think I have to vote for the 2014 divisional vs the Ravens. At that point it felt like we might never get the 4th despite having gone to the previous 3 AFCCGs. Luck was against us. Coming back from 14-0 and 28-14 gave me hope again. It was just an all time awesome performance in a game in which the Pats didn’t even attempt to run the ball.

Edit: Brady had 6 carries, including a TD. The backs had 7.

This is close for me, but far and away the best Brady game I’ve ever attended in person.

InstaFace · Mar 17, 2020

jmcc5400 said:
There are so many games and moments to choose from, but the first moment that flashed in my mind was the QB sneak for the game winning touchdown on 4th and 1 in the 2011 AFCCG against Baltimore in which he was absolutely pulverized (two plays after getting crushed on another sneak where the TD call was reversed). Our Uggs-wearing matinee idol QB was one tough MFer.

<snip>

God what a blast from the past. Edelman as cornerback. Deion Branch still at WR. Sterling Moore making two incredible back to back plays. The rushed snap that led Billy Cundiff to go wide left. And Brady's TD sneak, not to be forgotten, as you say.

For me, the absolute canonical example of "Tom Brady will rip your heart out and feast on it while he watches the light leave your eyes" has to be SB51. But right behind it, for me, is the 2009 game vs Buffalo. The finale of it was incredibly wild, but also pure distilled Brady:

View: https://youtu.be/C2TG2ufvbmg?t=6709
(edit: I see the highlights were posted earlier, but here's the whole thing as it unfolded to us on our couches)

He didn't have to have that game. It wasn't the playoffs. It was Week 1 for crying out loud, his very first game back after being out a full year with the only major injury of his career. It was against sad-sack Buffalo. Nobody would have blinked if they'd lost that game by 1 or even 2 scores.

But Tom Brady doesn't care. If you give him a tiny little opening, he will seize victory from the jaws of defeat and leave you a blubbering mess in the press conference afterwards (Which was a fair description of the opposing QB, who is literally nicknamed Captain Checkdown on PF-Ref). That was a "go fuck yourself, I'm winning this game" bully move. And it came first to mind for me, ahead of all the playoff glories, as being the essence of Brady: pure, distilled, focused aggression and a supreme belief that he had to win no matter what.

j-man · Mar 17, 2020

i am sorry to put that there but his toughness that day was unbelievable and had ne def played betther in the 1st haif cough J Collins cough u win that game by 7 or 10 and 3-peat

InstaFace · Mar 17, 2020

Old Fart Tree said:
That's where I'm at. That game was some of the best QB play I've ever seen, in a year where they were huge underdogs to a KC juggernaut, on the road, converting crazy 3rd and longs... It was amazing.

You might remember us watching that 2011 AFCCG at your place. I remember your chili (or maybe your wife's) being spicy af. When that kick missed I thought you were going to jump through the roof into your upstairs neighbor's living room.

Old Fart Tree · Mar 17, 2020

Yeah, that was amazing too. I felt bad for my friend Charlie the Ravens fan though.

SemperFidelisSox · Mar 17, 2020

It’s kind of an obscure game, but the 2011 divisional round game vs Denver. The height of Tebow-Mania. Denver was coming off a big OT win vs Pittsburgh the week before and this was a time when fans and media still believed in Tebow’s potential. Brady threw for 5 touchdowns IN THE FIRST HALF. The Pats routed Denver and ended any talk of Tebow being the next great QB.

Favorite Brady Game

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