During Friday’s press conference, a member of the press informed New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady that his playoff wins are higher than the combined postseason wins of all the quarterbacks in the 2020 postseason. When told that he has 30 playoff wins while the 11 other quarterbacks in the playoffs have 26 total postseason wins, Brady responded: “Is that pretty good?” When the reporter responded “That’s pretty good, Tom”, Brady replied, “That’s pretty good.”
In his 20-year NFL career since he was drafted 199th overall in 2000, Brady has played in 40 postseason games, amassing a 30-10 record in the process, which he translated to six Super Bowl victories.
The closest active quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers with 13 wins and eight losses, but he’s out for the year due to an injury while his team was already eliminated from the postseason. Denver’s Joe Flacco came in third with a record of 10-5, but the Broncos never made it to the postseason.
11 other QBs have 23 playoff losses
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has a 9-7 record and he has a chance to improve it in the Divisional Round on January 12 against a still-unknown opponent. Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks owns an 8-5 playoff record and will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Weekend on Sunday. Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints has an 8-7 mark and will try to improve it when they take on the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who only has one playoff loss to show in his credentials.
Among the young quarterbacks, only Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs has a playoff win to show while Carson Wentz of the Eagles, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans, Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, and Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans have yet to taste postseason success.
The 11 other quarterbacks in the 2020 postseason have 23 total losses in the playoffs.
Brady banking on his experience
In their first Wild Card Game since 2009, Brady and the Patriots will take on Tannehill and the Titans as a 4.5-point favorite. Brady will bank on his playoff experience as Tannehill will be suiting up in the postseason for the first time in his career.
In his postseason career, 42-year-old Brady has thrown for 11,179 yards and 73 touchdowns. The Patriots, for their part, have not lost a postseason game at Gillette Stadium since 2013.
Despite their postseason success, Brady said during the press conference that he’s leaving nothing to chance as he wants to help the Patriots advance to the next round against the Chiefs. “I don’t think, like I said, taking it for granted – as much as all those other games were great to be a part of, they’re not going to help us win this game,” said Brady.