Forty-four years young and two years into his stay in Tampa Bay, Tom Brady continues to rewrite record books and stack up milestones.
Brady became just the second player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in multiple seasons and became the oldest player in league history to hit the 5,000 mark on Sunday in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 41-17 win against the Carolina Panthers.
Brady hit 5,000 yards for the second time in his career, roughly 10 years after he first did it with the New England Patriots in his age-34 season of 2011. Only Drew Brees, who did it an amazing five times in his career, and Brady have multiple 5,000-yard seasons.
Following his 326-yard, three-touchdown showing on Sunday, Brady finished the season with 5,316 yards passing (third all-time, first in franchise history), 43 passing touchdowns (T-10th all time, first in franchise history) and 485 completions (first all-time).
Brady ended the season as the NFL leader in touchdown passes and passing yardage, becoming the oldest to accomplish either feat. Brady also is the first player in league history to lead the NFL in yards or touchdowns in passing, rushing or receiving while also being the league’s oldest active player, per NFL Research.
Brady and Brees remain married in many a statistical stratosphere, as Brady threw his 40th touchdown of the season in Week 16 to join Brees as the only players to have back-to-back seasons with 40 touchdowns.
Brady’s latest 5,000-yard showing marks only the 13th 5,000-yard season in NFL history.
Entering Week 18, Brady needed just 10 yards to hit 5,000, as his 4,990 yards led the NFL along with his 40 touchdown passes. Those 40 TDs matched the Buccaneers’ single-season record that Brady set just a year earlier. Brady broke his own Bucs single-season record for touchdown passes with a 1-yard scoring strike to Le'Veon Bell in the second quarter and threw No. 42 and 43 of the season to Mike Evans.
Another Brady completion to Evans broke Brees' record for completions in a season at 471.
Not done adding up the milestones, Brady surpassed his own career-high of 5,235 yards in a season that he set with the Patriots 10 years prior, so he has a new career high, a new Buccaneers single-season record and the No. 3 and No. 4 single-season passing marks.
As Brady already holds career records for passing yardage and touchdowns, every TB12 game provides new records. With the 2021 regular season having concluded, his all-time yards record sits at 84,520 and his all-time TD record is 624.
Brady continues to defy age and logic as he piles up the milestones.