Tom Brady won the NFC Offensive Player of the Month award. This is his eleventh winner of the month, extending his own NFL record.
Maybe that’s why we’re not enjoying Brady’s season as much as we should. We’ve gotten so used to him playing at this level that what he’s doing this year is floating with us, even though he’s wearing a new Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform. Brady’s greatness is an expectation at this point.
What Brady is doing this season is unprecedented and incredible. As his Buccaneers prepare to face the New York Giants – whose quarterback Daniel Jones was 2 when Brady was drafted – in a Monday night game that can be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports app, Brady will try to keep pushing into the MVP Conversation.
We’ve never seen anything quite like what Brady does, and it probably doesn’t get the proper respect.
Tom Brady is incredibly in the MVP race
For years, 38 was the normal retirement age for quarterbacks. Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, Kurt Warner, Fran Tarkenton and Sammy Baugh are among Hall of Fame QBs who retired after their season at 38.
Five years later, Brady, 43, is one of the best players in the NFL. After changing teams for the first time in his NFL career. In the strangest offseason ever.
Brady has seen a significant reversal of many stat drops. His yards per game, completion percentage, touchdown rate, yards per attempt and passer rating have all seen huge spikes from last season.
Brady has 18 touchdown passes. In the NFL’s first 100 seasons, quarterbacks aged 43 or older made 22 touchdowns. Combined.
When Brady won an MVP award at the end of the 2017 season, he was 40 years old. He became the oldest MVP of one of America’s Big Four professional sports. If he wins it again at 43 (or 44, or 45), it could be a record that is never disputed.
Brady is the best QB his age, by a mile
Brady still has a way to go to catch up with Russell Wilson in the MVP race. Brady just being in the conversation is remarkable.
There was no positive track record of a 43-year-old or older quarterback in NFL history prior to this season. Here is the list of quarterbacks at least 43 years old in the NFL, before 2020 (via Stathead):
Vinny Testaverde: 96 for 175, 981 yards, 6 TD, 6 TD
George Blanda: 68 for 135, 955 yards, 12 TD, 12 INT
Steve DeBerg: 30 of 59, 369 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Warren Moon: 16 of 37, 228 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Doug Flutie: 5 of 10, 29 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
There was a fun novelty in the quarterbacks that were still playing, but none of them were good. And at the same age, Brady just won the NFC Offensive Player of the Month award.
All Quarterbacks 43 and Over, Combined (Before Brady): 215 for 416 (51.7%), 2,562 yards, 22 TD, 22 INT, 66.4 passer rating
Brady at 43: 176 for 268 (65.7%), 1,910 yards, 18 TD, 4 INT, 102.7 passers
It’s not just quarters. No non-kicker over the age of 41 has ever had a Pro Bowl. Only one player, including kickers, made multiple Pro Bowls in his forties… that’s Tom Brady, with two.
Brady might throw a few more pick-sixes than he’s ever done before, and sometimes he might forget what it is. But let’s be clear: If Brady wins an MVP, or even comes close, it will be one of the most incredible accomplishments in all of sports. No one at his age, at any position in any team sport, has had this level of success.
Put your hatred of the Patriots aside. Don’t overlook what Brady is doing just because he’s been so good for so long. Just enjoy the show. We may never see anything like it again.
More from Yahoo Sports:
More from Yahoo Sports: