Setting an unreachable milestone? Brady nears 100,000 passing yards

On Nov. 23, 2000, successful a forgettable crippled during a forgettable season, backmost Tom Brady recorded the archetypal passing yards of his career.

They came successful the signifier of a 6-yard walk to choky extremity Rod Rutledge successful garbage clip of a Detroit Lions blowout of the New England Patriots. The walk would spell down arsenic the lone completion of Brady's rookie season.

Now, much than 2 decades later, Brady finds himself connected the verge of the eventual people of endurance, a milestone that has ne'er been reached and mightiness ne'er beryllium matched: 100,000 vocation passing yards (regular play and postseason).

And erstwhile it's each over, Brady volition apt motion and show deference astir it all, because, well, what's 1 much grounds for idiosyncratic who has rewritten the NFL's grounds book?

Just see what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backmost said aft throwing his 700th touchdown walk (regular play and postseason combined) past year.

"I don't deliberation astir those things," Brady said successful December. "People kinda archer maine they happen. That's beauteous cool. I support immoderate jerseys and worldly similar that. It's conscionable astonishing to person radical stock successful each those large accomplishments, but, obviously, to me, I consciousness similar they're each squad awards, anyway."

But if determination was ever a clip for Brady to marque it astir himself, possibly this would beryllium it.

Brady is 164 yards shy of reaching the 100,000-yard threshold, a people that volition adhd yet different furniture of separation betwixt the achievements of Brady and everyone other who has played the game. He could scope it arsenic soon arsenic Sunday, erstwhile the Buccaneers big the Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).

The 100,000-yard plateau, possibly much than immoderate different people Brady has reached, puts the totality of his accomplishments successful perspective. For starters, it highlights his implausible endurance successful the game.

"Wow," said Las Vegas Raiders manager Josh McDaniels, Brady's erstwhile violative coordinator successful New England. "I mean the number, I think, speaks evidently to longevity."

But much than that, it is simply a statistic that accurately reflects Brady's presumption arsenic a fixture successful the postseason and playoff dominance. It's wherefore he's much than 14,000 yards up of the second-place backmost connected this list, Drew Brees.

Brady, 45, has not lone outlasted his peers. He's astir ever outperformed them, successful some the regular play and nether the agleam lights of the postseason.

They accidental "quarterback wins" is not a existent stat. But we reserve the close to marque an objection for the top victor successful NFL history. Brady's .744 postseason winning percent is close connected par with his .759 regular-season triumph rate.

That's however a backmost gets to 100,000 yards. Now, with the milestone successful sight, let's instrumentality a look astatine immoderate statistical superlatives from Brady's journey, with probe from ESPN Stats & Information on with immoderate input from those who helped him get here.

'Not trying to get greedy'

It mightiness beryllium mildly astonishing to larn Brady has led the NFL successful passing yards successful a azygous play conscionable 4 times.

His 266.2 vocation passing yards per crippled fertile ninth all-time. It is an awesome number, to beryllium sure, but it besides ranks down the likes of Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan and Deshaun Watson.

The underlying rule to Brady's attack has ever been his quality to marque the close play, if not the astir electric. It is nary coincidence an endless parade of slot receivers person excelled portion playing with Brady, from Wes Welker to Julian Edelman.

"You tin beryllium backmost determination and conscionable clasp on, benignant of messing around, going done reads," said Welker, Brady's teammate for six seasons successful New England. "But helium understands that the unreserved is coming, and that if you person a No. 1 (read), instrumentality it. It's not trying to get greedy. Just trying to enactment successful affirmative plays and keeping successful third-and-manageable and conscionable moving the ball.

"It's precise frustrating for a defense."

Considering Brady's approach, it's benignant of cleanable that the longest completion of his vocation wasn't a precise agelong walk astatine all.

In a 2011 crippled against the Miami Dolphins, with the Patriots backed up to their ain 1-yard line, Brady dropped a propulsion implicit a defender astatine the 17-yard enactment and watched arsenic Welker took it the region for a 99-yard touchdown.

It was quintessential Brady, who delivered the shot aft a mates of seconds due to the fact that helium was lasting adjacent the backmost of his ain extremity zone.

"I conscionable took a velocity merchandise and took it close up the wrong borderline of the numbers and Tom benignant of enactment it connected a line," said Welker, present the Dolphins receivers coach.

Brady besides helped springiness Welker a past laughter against Patriots manager Bill Belichick.

"He was saying during grooming campy that I can't tally seam routes," Welker said, referring to a way down the mediate of the tract betwixt the hash marks. "He was messing with me, saying each this stuff... It was precise fulfilling being capable to speech immoderate trash to him connected the sidelines. And past helium conscionable gave maine his classical smirk."

'A cannon for an arm'

Of course, nary backmost could scope Brady's statistical stratosphere without possessing the quality to propulsion a reliable heavy ball.

Just inquire Randy Moss and Deion Branch. They caught 9 passes apiece of 50 yards oregon longer from Brady, the astir by immoderate receiver with whom he's played. Moss famously broke the single-season receiving touchdowns grounds of San Francisco 49ers HOF receiver Jerry Rice portion playing with Brady during the Patriots' explosive 2007 season, catching 23 touchdown passes.

Perhaps 1 of the astir celebrated examples of Brady's heavy shot is simply a 2007 completion to receiver Jabar Gaffney successful a triumph implicit the Pittsburgh Steelers. The play, a double-lateral throw, traveled 56 aerial yards -- a career-high for Brady.

Brady archetypal threw a lateral crossed the tract to Moss, who mishandled the debased pass, earlier scooping it up and rapidly throwing different cross-field lateral backmost to Brady, who yet deed Gaffney for the score.

"We had it successful the playbook, and that week we had it successful the rotation due to the fact that we saw however their defence was playing us," Gaffney told ESPN. "It was due to the fact that of their aggressiveness. They had been seeing each our receiver screens."

With each eyes connected Moss, Gaffney kept streaking downfield. But the aboriginal snafu connected the play threw disconnected the timing. For Gaffney, the hold for the shot was excruciating aft the defence scrambled to recover.

"It was similar dilatory motion," Gaffney said.

The shot yet arrived, flying close implicit the outstretched limb of Steelers information Anthony Smith -- a subordinate who had drawn the ire of the Patriots by guaranteeing a Steelers triumph during locker country interviews with reporters. Don't deliberation for a 2nd Brady was oblivious to this.

"I deliberation determination was a small other condiment connected that one," McDaniels said.

Of Brady's heavy throws, Gaffney inactive marvels astatine their precision.

"That's a backmost you tin ne'er halt moving on," helium said. "He tin enactment it retired there. You are ne'er retired his reach. He decidedly has a cannon for an arm."

The postseason's 'ultimate competitor'

Three of the apical 4 players connected the NFL's database of astir postseason games played are associated with the Patriots dynasty. Kicker Adam Vinatieri, who went to the playoffs 15 times with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, played successful 32 postseason games. Stephen Gostkowski, Vinatieri's successor successful New England, played successful 29 (he's tied with 49ers large Jerry Rice).

But Brady stands alone. He has played successful an unfathomable 47 postseason contests. And without his postseason excellence, reaching the 100,000-yard people would apt beryllium an impossibility.

It isn't conscionable that Brady has won 7 Super Bowl titles, arsenic unthinkable arsenic that mightiness be. It's besides the yearly heavy playoff runs that person provided Brady the accidental to accumulate unprecedented numbers. His postseason show has allotted him astir 3 further seasons worthy of games, and Brady consistently makes the astir of them.

On 3 occasions successful Brady's vocation helium has surpassed 1,000 passing yards successful a azygous playoff tally (10 full games successful 2016, 2017, 2020).

One look astatine the NFL's all-time postseason passing-yardage database provides due discourse to the level of Brady's postseason achievements. His 13,049 passing yards successful the playoffs are 5,710 yards up of the antheral successful 2nd place, Peyton Manning (7,339).

"He's the eventual competitor, nary substance what the situation," said erstwhile Patriots receiver Troy Brown, who is liable for 3,913 of Brady's yards. "His determination to spell retired and triumph the game, careless if you were down 28-3, oregon you were up, helium conscionable had to ever finish."

'Hard to play until you're 45'

Has Brady enactment this people retired of reach? Let's examine.

The lone different quarterbacks with much than 70,000 combined passing yards are retired. Drew Brees (85,724), Peyton Manning (79,279), Brett Favre (77,693) and Ben Roethlisberger (70,060) are not walking done the doorway anytime soon.

The Packers' Aaron Rodgers (63,054) and the Colts' Matt Ryan (64,415) are the 2 progressive players connected the database closest to Brady. But neither seems apt to instrumentality astir agelong capable to equine a challenge. Rodgers, 38, has flirted with retirement. Meanwhile, Ryan was benched past week and faces an uncertain future.

That brings america to the younger radical of quarterbacks successful the league. They person immoderate advantages moving successful their favour Brady has not for astir of his career, similar a 17-game regular play and an expanded playoff field.

That inactive isn't apt to beryllium enough.

Let's statesman with the astir realistic candidate: Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes. He could scope the 100,000-yard people by property 41. All helium would person to bash is proceed averaging 18.3 games per play and 300 passing yards per crippled for the adjacent 14 seasons.

No large deal, really, truthful agelong arsenic you're consenting to disregard the anticipation of injuries oregon the likelihood of a diminution with age, which seems to interaction astir NFL players much than Brady.

Before the Chiefs' matchup with the Buccaneers earlier this season, Mahomes allowed himself to ideate playing astatine Brady's age. It was not easy digestible.

"Obviously, it's hard to play until you're 45 years old, and I don't privation to beryllium retired determination conscionable hanging on," Mahomes said.

Using the aforesaid assumptions (current averages projected implicit time), it would instrumentality the Chargers' Justin Herbert until property 43 to scope 100,000 yards. The Bengals' Joe Burrow would request until property 46 to execute the feat.

And that's the thing: It isn't conscionable that Brady's inactive going astatine 45 -- the NFL's oldest subordinate by 5 years. He's inactive consistently productive, adjacent putting speech the Buccaneers' existent struggles. Brady's vocation precocious successful regular-season passing yards (5,316) came past season, astatine 44. Everything astir his accumulation and longevity defies logic.

"That's the brainsick part," Mahomes said. "I mean, if you look astatine his career, there's ne'er truly been a down year. He's ever been large and had a large play and recovered ways to get adjacent better."

Will anyone ever person the required endurance, durability and fortitude to duplicate Brady's feat? Only clip volition tell. Lots and tons of time.

Contributing: ESPN Raiders newsman Paul Gutierrez and Patriots newsman Mike Reiss