Tom Brady Moments That Show Why He S The Goat Aol

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 8, 2025, 12:59 PM

tom brady moments that show why he s the goat aol

Few players in sports history have left as profound a mark on their game as Tom Brady. Over his remarkable career, he’s crafted a legacy built on unforgettable performances and historic milestones. These defining moments showcase why his name is synonymous with greatness and why he stands alone as the ultimate standard in football history. Brady's journey to greatness began with a stunning upset in Super Bowl XXXVI. Facing the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, Brady led the New England Patriots on a game-winning drive, setting up Adam Vinatieri’s iconic field goal.

At just 24 years old, Brady showcased poise and leadership that set the tone for his career. In the AFC Divisional Playoff against the Raiders, Brady’s controversial “tuck rule” play became the turning point of the game. After initially being ruled a fumble, the play was reversed, allowing the Patriots to tie and later win in overtime. It remains one of the most debated moments in NFL history—and the start of Brady’s playoff magic. In blizzard-like conditions during the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff against the Raiders, Brady showed his resilience. He passed for 312 yards and led a late rally to tie the game, which the Patriots eventually won in overtime.

The game is remembered for both the conditions and Brady’s grit. Brady and Manning’s rivalry defined an era, and their 2004 AFC Championship clash was a defining moment. Brady outdueled Manning with a commanding performance, leading the Patriots to victory and another Super Bowl appearance. His ability to deliver on the biggest stages was undeniable. From clutch comebacks to record-breaking milestones, these 20 unforgettable moments reveal exactly why Tom Brady isn’t just great — he’s the greatest to ever play the game. Tom Brady’s legacy isn’t built on hype — it’s built on moments that defy logic, pressure, and time itself.

From jaw-dropping comebacks to record-shattering feats, each highlight tells the story of a quarterback who turned doubt into dominance. This list dives into 20 iconic instances that prove why Brady isn’t just part of NFL history — he is NFL history. With 1:30 left and no timeouts, a 24-year-old Tom Brady led a calm, surgical drive to set up the game-winning field goal against the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams. Nobody expected the sixth-rounder to outduel Kurt Warner on the biggest stage. That night, a dynasty — and a legend — was born. Down 28-3 in the third quarter to the Falcons, Brady didn’t flinch.

He threw for 466 yards and engineered five straight scoring drives to force overtime and win. It was the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, and the moment “never count Brady out” became gospel. On November 3, 2002, a young Tom Brady led the Patriots to a commanding 38-7 victory over the Bills. This game was an early glimpse of the precision and leadership that would later cement his legacy as the GOAT. Of all the GOAT debates in sports, one of the easiest to call comes from football, because there isn’t a debate at all. Tom Brady made the conversation an open-and-shut affair.

There are no competition concerns, numbers to scrutinize, or “yeah, but”s to explore. The only mystery isn’t who the GOAT is, but how it ended up being the 199th pick of an NFL draft. Let’s explore what makes a skinny 6th round quarterback in the world’s most brutal sport the unequivocal greatest of all time. It’s easy to start with statistics, and there’s no reason to bury the lede, so let’s begin there. The most important position in all of sports is, arguably, quarterback. There have been dozens of phenomenal quarterbacks in NFL history.

What makes Tom Brady so unique is that he has more passing yards, passing touchdowns, 4th quarter comebacks, game-winning drives, regular season wins, postseason wins, Super Bowl victories, and Super Bowl MVPs than all... His 12 combined Super Bowl rings and Super Bowl MVPs are five more than any other player in NFL history. His Approximate Value–a statistic created by Pro Football Reference to estimate career value–is 49 more than any other player, which is greater than the difference between 2nd place and 9th place. He not only has the greatest career in history, but his 2007 regular season is arguably the greatest season in history. Brady’s career statistics are enough to end the debate, but there are several other angles that bolster his legacy. For instance, Brady’s impact on winning is unrivaled in the sport.

Bill Belichick is often included on the Mount Rushmore of NFL head coaches, and rightfully so. Belichick has a record six Super Bowl victories as a head coach, and appeared in a record nine Super Bowls. However, Belichick owes quite a bit to Brady for his success. Belichick’s career regular season record without Brady is 83-104 (.444). With Brady? Well things look a little sunnier at 219-64 (.774).

Belichick’s career playoff record without Brady stands at just 1-2 (.333). Again, with Brady, that record balloons to 30-11 (.732). Certainly, there was some mutualism between Brady and Belichick in New England, but Belichick was unsuccessful in three NFL stints without Brady. Brady without Belichick? This is where Brady’s legacy reaches the land beyond the land of the absurd. Brady left New England to be the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay in 2020.

Tampa had not made the playoffs in the previous 12 seasons, and carried a 7-9 record in 2019. In Brady’s first season without Belichick, he was the MVP of the Super Bowl! Brady would go on to lead the Bucs to the playoffs in all three of his seasons in Tampa, and did so in his mid-40s. Brady’s career regular season without Belichick is 32-18 (.640), and his playoff record is 5-2 (.714). It is rare in sports that we get to see such a definitive conclusion on the relative importance of a single player as we’ve been able to see with Brady. His massive success with and without Belichick, and with and without the Patriots and Bucs, combined with Belichick and Tampa’s poor records without Brady shows just how instrumental Brady was to his winning endeavors.

Brady’s massive statistical ledger and his impact on winning are more than enough to close the book on this debate, but there’s more. Brady’s sustained excellence is only rivaled by LeBron James in the history of professional sports. Brady led the NFL in passing yards in his 20s, 30s, and 40s. He did the same with touchdowns. He won multiple Super Bowls in his 20s, 30s, and 40s. As a starting quarterback, Brady was 70-24 (.745) in his 20s, 113-28 (.801) in his 30s, and 68-30 (.694) in his 40s.

There are only three quarterbacks in history besides Brady who won two Super Bowls with at least a .694 career winning %, and Brady accomplished that in his 20s, 30s, and 40s. Brady’s sustained excellence shows up even more if we move beyond the fact that he’s the all time leader in so many categories, and explore just how big his margin is over second place... His 10 Super Bowl appearances are four more than any other player. His 251 regular season wins are 65 more than any other player. The difference between Brady and 2nd place is the same as the difference between 2nd and 12th place. Brady’s regular season win total is twice as many as all but 8 quarterbacks in NFL history.

Brady’s 35 playoff wins are more than double any other quarterback in history. He has twice as many passing yards as all but 18 quarterbacks, and twice as many passing touchdowns as all but 12. A pivotal college conversation reshaped Brady's mindset-motivating him to seize every opportunity and ignite the mindset that fuelled his legendary comeback. Las Vegas Raiders co-owner Tom Brady knows better than most how to win in the NFL, having collected seven Super Bowl rings across his illustrious career. On his way to becoming arguably the greatest quarterback in the modern game, Brady reflected on the teachings that led him to greatness, or even being named the 'GOAT' of the NFL. In a recent interview shared by creator theschoolofhardknockz, legendary quarterback + Brady reflected on the life-changing advice he received in college - an exchange that marked the turning point from self-doubt to self-belief and...

Brady, who won rings with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, revealed that, as a sophomore at the University of Michigan, he frequently complained to a sports psychologist about not receiving the... Tom Brady, the most handsome, most athletic (not), winningest, and smartest NFL quarterback of all time. While that is a statement that I believe, not everyone else does. In today’s post, I am going to provide information and proof to show that Tom Brady is the best NFL quarterback to ever step on a football field. Let’s start at the beginning… Tom was a scrawny kid from California who did not start playing football until he reached high school.

After high school, Tom signed to play college for the Michigan Wolverines in college. He only played 6 games in his first two years with Michigan, once Tom reached his third year he took over the starting quarterback job in Michigan and was the starter until he was... Tom Brady was drafted 199th overall in the 2000 NFL draft to the New England Patriots Let’s agree on this: Tom Brady has GQ looks but a Happy Meal voice. Not as squeaky as David Beckham’s – heaven help us – but also not the Cabernet baritone of Jim Nantz or, going farther back, the barstool delivery of John Madden, who sounded like the... Boom!

Don’t feel sorry for old Tom. Fox is paying him $375 million over 10 years to unleash that voice on us. There’s nothing he can do about his vocals, anyway. Unfortunately, the GOAT sounds like a baby one. There is, however, something Brady can do about his presentation, which during his maiden voyage Sunday doing the Cleveland Browns-Dallas Cowboys game was average at best. The retired NFL quarterback knows the game but needs to learn how to present his insider knowledge with some flair.

He needs to finish thoughts and stop chiming in at odd moments. Realted Tom Brady article: Joe Burrow deserves to get roasted like Tom Brady, but burning Bengals QB not easy: Oller His best comments came when when he explained how he benefited from hard coaching – “I have no problem with any coaches that feel they need to tell their players the truth, because you...

Tom Brady Moments That Show Why He S The Goat Aol

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