“Tom Brady Went Past Drew Brees, Went Past Aaron Rodgers, Stomped Out Patrick Mahomes”: NFL GOAT’s 2020 Pandemic Playoff Run May Have Been the Best of All Time

"Tom Brady Went Past Drew Brees, Went Past Aaron Rodgers, Stomped Out Patrick Mahomes": NFL GOAT's 2020 Pandemic Playoff Run May Have Been the Best of All Time

Tom Brady may have won 6 Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, but going through Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes in one playoff run might be his crowning achievement. Tom Brady left the Patriots at the end of the 2019-20 season. He put up one of his worst statistical years, and his final throw with the Patriots was a pick-six. People believed his time was up, and nobody thought that a move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of all places was going to do any wonders for him. However, he proved all of them wrong.

Proving people wrong is a major theme in Brady’s career. It started in college when he had to split reps with other quarterbacks, extended into the NFL when he was drafted 199th overall, and continued into the deeper stages of his career, especially after a 10-year drought from winning the Super Bowl. The legendary quarterback has proved people all wrong to seven championships and the title of the greatest quarterback of all time.

Tom Brady Had a Legendary 2020 Playoff Run, Beating Brees, Rodgers, and Mahomes

The 2020-21 season may go down as one of Brady’s best seasons. He didn’t set any records or do anything crazy, but the context behind the 2020-21 season is what sets it apart from everything.

Keep in mind that the 2020-21 season marked a dark time for the NFL and the rest of the world as the Covid-19 pandemic played a major role in sporting leagues everywhere. Brady switched teams during this weird time, and as a result, he didn’t have the same prep and training with his new team that he would have had otherwise.

Also, remember that Brady was switching teams after 20 years with the New England Patriots. People were doubting Brady’s ability to win without legendary coach Bill Belichick and after a somewhat shaky start to the year, their fears seemed to warrant reason.

However, a midseason strategy and goal shift marked a shift in the team. They went from 7-5 to 11-5, entering the postseason as a wild card team.

After beating the Washington Commanders, Brady was going to face the toughest three tests of his career. First up was Drew Brees. The New Orleans Saints had beaten the Buccaneers handily both times in the regular season, and the Buccaneers were pegged as underdogs playing away.

However, a strong performance by Brady and the defense led them to a massive 30-20 upset. Brady had just beaten one of the most statistically great quarterbacks in NFL history.

Next up was Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is considered to be the greatest quarterback talent in history. Brady led a strong first-half performance backed by defensive brilliance in the second half to upset the Packers as well. The number one seed and the MVP were down.

Finally, it was time to face the current best quarterback in the NFL, and perhaps Brady’s successor in Patrick Mahomes. However, Brady was basically perfect in the Super Bowl, riding his defense and making plays when he needed to. He won Super Bowl MVP and completed a magnificent run, upsetting the best quarterback talent in the league.

Joseph Vincent on Twitter provided a great highlight reel of Brady’s run.

Brady Can Relax as the Greatest In Retirement

Brady’s 7th Super Bowl sealed the deal on the GOAT debate. His fifth and sixth wins had essentially done that, but the 7th ensured that there would be no competition for a while.

He’s now retired and resting easy and spending time with his family in retirement. He achieved everything you could want from an NFL career and then some. Nobody is going to touch Brady for a very long time, and that’s what makes him the GOAT.

Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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