Tom Brady: Best single season by a Buccaneers QB ever

Stats with the same team

The Buccaneers returned 17 out of 22 available starters from last season. The Bucs ended up losing O.J. Howard and Vita Vea early, but this roster is largely the same as last season, with Gronk replacing Howard and backups at nose tackle. The injuries at wide receiver to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have mostly ensured that the talent at the position is comparable to last season. Still, to be fair, a fully healthy unit this year is far better than last season.

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The run game is almost the exact same as last season with 1,521 yards last season versus 1,519 this season, and Ronald Jones remains the starter. The most significant difference on this front is the unit taking a step back as a whole, even with the addition of Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy.

The Buccaneers did try to give Brady a better run game, but all of the draft picks and free agency moves did little to help, yet Brady still succeeded.

The defense, which started hot, fell off a cliff in the middle of the season and looked very similar to the defense that finished last year in most matchups. Middling quarterbacks carved up the secondary, but opponents’ run games were stifled.

Even with a similar defense, this Bucs team was still able to persevere with Brady under center.

The one true area other than Brady that has helped the most has been the kicking by Ryan Succop. Succop, who was a free agent, beat Matt Gay for the starting job during training camp and saved the position for the Buccaneers. Still, the kicking isn’t leading to Brady’s level of success at 43.

Tom Brady wins the Bucs quarterback race in every regard. The stats, the eye test, and adjustments make this a no-brainer, and that is without considering quarterback wins (a worthless stat that indicates nothing).

While there may have been some question marks last offseason, Tom Brady has already proven himself as the best free-agent signing in franchise history. We’ve already seen so much from the GOAT to make this year memorable, but we’re about to enter the playoffs, where Brady is the best quarterback ever, regardless of the team.

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