There hasn't been a scarier sight in NFL history than being on the other side of a Tom Brady-led team in a one-score game in the fourth quarter. More often than not, No. 12 would deliver with an epic game-winning drive.
To be more accurate, the legendary New England Patriots quarterback orchestrated 46 game-winning fourth-quarter comebacks in his career. He went down as the most clutch player of all time for a reason.
However, as much as this might hurt Patriots fans worldwide, that distinction might not last much longer. In a recent video, Bleacher Report staff predicted that Matthew Stafford might break that record this season, as he has 39 such drives.
Matthew Stafford will break Tom Brady's record, but not his legend
The Los Angeles Rams play in one of the toughest divisions in football. They have to square off twice against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and twice again against the San Francisco 49ers, so they should have plenty of chances to mount a comeback.
Even if that's not the case, Stafford is unlikely to retire just one year after his MVP campaign. He might play for at least another season after this one, so it should be just a matter of time before he takes down Brady's record.
That said, as great a player as Stafford is, he'll never come even close to what Brady represented. This isn't a shot at him; it's just a fact, and there's nothing wrong with that. There are levels to everything, even if the record books state otherwise.
The only reason Brady doesn't have more fourth-quarter comebacks is that he wasn't often in a position to come back from a deficit. For two decades, he and Bill Belichick kept the league in a chokehold, and it was more likely to watch him sit late in games than to watch him have to carry the team.
At the end of the day, records are meant to be broken, and that's the beauty of sports. With longer regular seasons, most of the glories of the old days will be anecdotal, and that doesn't mean today's players are better.
Here's a good one for those who enjoy keeping track of milestones and whatnot. Since everyone is breaking records now, how about winning more than seven Super Bowl rings? Hell, how about winning even five? How many can even dream of doing that?
Thought so.
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