Sunday Could Be Another Historic Day For Tom Brady
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Last weekend was an ugly one for Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, as the unit accounted for just one touchdown and one field goal in a grind-it-out 16-10 victory in Buffalo.
That, though, came against the league's second-best defense. This weekend could -- and should -- be a lot more enjoyable for everybody involved with that Patriots offense, and it could be yet another historic afternoon for the 42-year-old quarterback.
After throwing for just 150 passing yards last week, Brady is now 71,575 career passing yards. That leaves him 263 yards behind Brett Favre for the third-most passing yards of all time, and it leaves him 365 yards behind Peyton Manning for the No. 2 spot on that all-time passing yards list.
MOST PASSING YARDS, ALL TIME
1. Drew Brees, 74,845
2. Peyton Manning, 71,940
3. Brett Favre, 71,838
4. Tom Brady, 71,575
5. Dan Marino, 61,361
While a 365-yard day may be asking a lot, the Redskins may be ripe for the picking. Washington enters Week 5 having allowed 399.3 yards per game, fifth-most in the NFL. They've also allowed 29.5 points per game, which is second-worst in the league and better than only the dreadful Dolphins.
While Washington's pass defense has been mediocre (251.8 yards per game, good for 18th in the NFL), they've allowed opposing quarterbacks to compile a passer rating of 112.4 against them thus far. That's the fifth-highest mark among all NFL defenses.
Perhaps most encouraging of all news for Brady is that the Redskins' defense even made Mitchell Trubisky look like an MVP-caliber quarterback. The Bears' QB completed 25 of 31 passes in Washington for 231 yards with three touchdowns and one interception that was almost entirely Trubisky's own doing.
Here's a look at how Trubisky has fared vs. the Redskins, and against everyone else this year:
Trubisky vs. WSH: 25-for-31 (80.6%), 231 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Trubisky vs. GB/DEN/MIN: 44-for-75 (58.7%), 357 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT
Trubisky averaged 7.5 yards per attempt vs. the Redskins and 4.76 yards per attempt vs. everyone else.
Here's the full list of quarterbacks vs. the Redskins this year, with only rookie Daniel Jones struggling in the TD/INT department.
Carson Wentz: 28-for-39, 313 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 121.0 rating
Dak Prescott: 26-for-30, 269 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 123.5 rating
Mitchell Trubisky: 25-for-31, 231 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 116.5 rating
Daniel Jones: 23-for-31, 225 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 78.0 rating
Total: 102-for-131 (77.9%), 259.5 yards/game, 10 TDs, 4 INTs
Suffice it to say, barring some act of God, Tom Brady might have some success on the football field on Sunday.
Brady enters Sunday trailing Drew Brees on the all-time passing yards list by 3,270 yards. While Brady is due for a big day vs. Washington, he might fall short of topping 3,000 yards on Sunday. He will get 2,500 at best. (In his last trip to Washington, Brady had 357 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and one sideline spat with Bill O'Brien.)
Nevertheless, with Brees sidelined due to his thumb injury, Brady will continue gaining ground in that race.
(Of course, if one cares about such things, then one might also care that Brady owns huge leads in all-time passing yards and touchdowns when the regular season is combined with the postseason. Alas, postseason stats don't ever factor in to such discussions, because apparently the most important games shouldn't count, or something to that effect.
Most Passing Yards, Regular Season And Postseason Combined
1. Tom Brady, 82,754
2. Drew Brees, 79,604
3. Peyton Manning, 79,279
4. Brett Favre, 77,693
5. Dan Marino, 65,871Most Touchdown Passes, Regular Season And Postseason Combined
1. Tom Brady, 597
2. Peyton Manning, 579
3. Drew Brees, 555
4. Brett Favre, 552
5. Dan Marino, 452
ANYWAYS.)
Brady leapfrogged Brees on the regular season all-time touchdown list earlier this year, and Brady now sits 15 touchdowns behind Manning for the top spot on that list. Seemingly every week, he'll be setting some new mark in the record books, and this upcoming Sunday in Maryland will present a tremendous opportunity.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
UPDATE: Brady passed Favre but not Manning with 348 yards against the Redskins. He'll need just 18 yards to pass Manning in Week 6.