Is There Reason For Legitimate Concern About Tom Brady Heading Into Week 17?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is almost certainly going to be the NFL's MVP. At age 40, what he's done this year has been nothing short of incredible.
But over the past month, Brady has been human.
Over his last four games, Brady has thrown four touchdowns and five interceptions. And after compiling a 111.7 passer rating through his first 11 games, he's posted just an 81.5 passer rating over the last four games.
With the downward tick in performance and a shoulder ailment popping up on the injury report, CBS Boston's Michael Hurley posed the question to WBZ-TV's Steve Burton: Is there reason to be concerned about Tom Brady?
Burton's answer was emphatic.
"How in the world do you doubt him?" he asked. "How are you going to doubt him? Didn't they say that after the Kansas City game -- his age is catching up to him, is Brady done? He's not going to be perfect. And everybody compares him ... to Brady! That's the problem. He's not going to be perfect, but here's the thing I love about him: he doesn't get rattled. Even when he throws a pick-six, it's always about the next pass. Even when he throws a touchdown, it's always about the next pass. And he can bring you back. ... He's just so smart, he knows how to get out of the way, he knows how to deliver in crunch time, and he's clutch. And we all know that."
It's worth noting that historically, December is Brady's worst month in terms of completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating and touchdown-to-interception ratio. So much of it undoubtedly has to do with the cold weather that's not always friendly to passing games.
Nevertheless, the Patriots will need Brady on Sunday in order to guarantee themselves the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win over the Jets.
One of Brady's targets on Sunday just might be Malcolm Mitchell, who's spent all of his second NFL season thus far on injured reserve. But he's now back on the practice field and is working to getting back into game action just in time for the postseason.
"I talked to Malcolm Mitchell last week, and he is dying -- absolutely dying -- to play football," Burton said. "He wants to come back. He feels like he's ready -- like he's 100 percent ready to go and play -- and now he wants to make some catches and have an impact out there."
Hurley and Burton also discussed the potential impact James Harrison could have with the Patriots, and how remarkable this historic run by the Patriots continues to be in Year 17. Watch in the video above.
The Patriots close out their regular season on Sunday, and WBZ-TV has you covered, beginning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. The Jets-Patriots game will air on WBZ at 1 p.m., with Patriots 5th Quarter airing on MyTV38 immediately after the game.