Tom Brady is still the greatest NFL quarterback of all time

Brady balls out even by advanced metrics

One of the greatest issues with modern sports analytics is the “stat watching” strategy. Fans and analysts subscribing to this method can search the game, see the box score, and then make a hasty judgment regarding the player. “Brady only threw one touchdown and one pick against 217 yards? He must be washed up!” Well, not exactly.

One touchdown and one interception is not an excellent post-game stat line, but those stats show nothing about the performance of the teammates. Was the interception bobbled into the hands of the defensive back? How many touchdown passes were dropped? To leave these instances out of the equation of evaluating a player is either biased or negligent at best.

According to pff.com, a site that takes all of these more in-depth metrics into account, Tom Brady has been one of the top-rated quarterbacks consistently during this season. One of the most impressive stats to come from this site is Brady’s dominance with the deep ball, something very few people expected this year.

To put this in context, the 43-year old Tom Brady has more deep passing yards than the strong-armed Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes and the “deep ball master” Russell Wilson. Again, perhaps the decline was attributed to Brady and his “weak arm” a little too soon.

At this rate, Brady is playing at an MVP rate statistically. The race was originally between Wilson and Allen, but after the first quarter of the season, Brady has made a convincing case for himself, and the MVP race is starting to heat up.