3 offensive MVPs for the Patriots after first half of season
2. Tom Brady
Tom Brady, now in his 20th season in the league, is having an interesting year so far. He’s helped guide the Patriots to a perfect 8-0 mark, though he’d be the first to admit that New England’s record this year is primarily thanks to the continuous otherworldly performance of the defense.
It’s unusual for the Patriots defense to steal all the headlines and press away from the offense. The last time it happened was probably during the earliest of early days in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era, when the dynasty was still in early formation as the team won three Super Bowls in four years at the start of the new millennium.
Back then, Belichick had big-name stars littering his defenses: Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Rodney Harrison, Ty Law, etc. The New England offense was still really good, but Brady was almost seen more as a terrific game manager who was cool as a cucumber under pressure and in the postseason when it mattered most.
As more of those defensive stalwarts aged or retired, Brady came into his prime and started to hit his stride with more skilled offensive weaponry around him, including Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and others.
Now it appears that the Patriots are closer to resembling those early teams from two decades ago than the offensive juggernauts from a decade ago. Belichick once again has a star-studded defense regularly outperforming expectations, and the question this year isn’t how to stop the Patriots offense – it’s how to score on the Patriots defense.
Despite the change, Brady remains Brady. He may not be slinging the ball all over the field these days, but he also doesn’t need to be. With the defense the Patriots have this season, all he might need to do is march the offense down the field and score two or three touchdowns per game, and that could be enough.
Statistically though, Brady is having only an average season by his own lofty standards.
His completion percentage is the eighth-best it’s been in the 19 years since he took over full-time as the team’s starter. If he maintains his current pace, he’ll finish the year with 4,502 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The yardage would be the sixth-best mark of his career, but the touchdown total would be tied for his fifth-lowest mark in 18 healthy seasons as starter. On the flip side, the eight interceptions would tie his fourth-best mark.
Realistically, both Brady’s touchdowns as well as his interceptions should finish higher than those projected numbers.
The run game just hasn’t been there for the Patriots this season, and while that could still change in the second half, Brady might need to keep throwing the ball to maintain pace with some of the more talented offensive teams the Pats will face in November and early December. It’s not difficult to imagine Brady and Patrick Mahomes duking it out in another shootout at Gillette Stadium this year, nor is it hard to envision him needing to go toe-to-toe with Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, or Carson Wentz… all of whom are MVP-caliber type players.
Brady has also gotten lucky with several passes this season that should have been picked off. Just this past Sunday he threw an ill-advised attempt right into the waiting arms of Browns cornerback Denzel Ward in the end zone, who thankfully couldn’t hold onto the ball for whatever reason. If Ward had managed to come down with the pick, it would have been Brady’s third red zone interception this season.
Nevertheless, the Patriots legend easily finishes in our hierarchy for offensive MVPs at the halfway juncture of the season. Considering all the attrition and moving pieces that have affected that side of the ball through eight games this year, it’s impressive – though not at all surprising – to see Brady compiling the season he’s had so far.