On Saturday, millions watched as Tom Brady threw his 46th playoff touchdown and bypassed Joe Montana for the most touchdowns in NFL postseason history. His three passing touchdowns helped lead his team against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round of the playoffs, but what millions didn’t realize was that Brady’s legs essentially won the game for the Patriots.
At times during the game, I thought I was watching Ben Roethlisberger play. When the Ravens rushed, Brady stepped up in the pocket and delivered pass after pass. He scrambled. He ran. He avoided sacks. But given the statistics, it wasn’t just my personal bias in the Patriots’ favor which led me to see a different quarterback.
From my very official (unofficial) research, I’ve learned that the best way to make Brady falter is to throw four guys at him — and that’s exactly what the Ravens did in the game and have been doing all along — but during the second half of Saturday’s game, Brady adjusted.
According to ESPN, in his first seven playoff halves against the Ravens’ four-man rush — which includes two losses and one where he would’ve lost if it weren’t for a missed field goal by the Ravens — Brady only completed 52.1 percent of his passes. Though not counted in completion percentages, eight of his passes were thrown to the Baltimore Ravens, including one in the first half of Saturday’s game. The number of touchdowns he threw in that period: two. He was also sacked twice in the first half and after some external motivation which apparently fired him up, he wasn’t sacked at all in the second. After the break, Brady completed 72.7 percent of his passes for an average of 6.9 yards a chuck, including the go-ahead and record-breaking 23-yard touchdown toss to Brandon LaFell.
In a game where his running backs only rushed for 14 yards and didn’t even receive the ball in the second half, Brady also provided the crucial runs needed when a receiver wasn’t open in the red zone. He’d complete the runs himself — running from the four-yard line into the end zone to start the Patriots’ first 14-point comeback. With the rushing touchdown, Brady also reached the top of another record: he now has the most rushing touchdowns in the playoffs among active quarterbacks. And on the same drive that led to his record-breaking pass touchdown and the go-ahead score, Brady snuck up the middle for two yards to convert a second down and one that allowed that drive to continue.
Next weekend, Brady and the Patriots will face one of the best in the league in avoiding the rush and making big plays with his feet: the Colts’ Andrew Luck. Against the Broncos, Luck also stepped up in the pocket and extended plays time after time. He even had a long 20-yard scramble Sunday, and according to ESPN, was never sacked despite being under pressure on 15 of his 45 dropbacks — the most pressure he has had to face all year. Not only was he not sacked, but he also completed all but five passes for almost 100 yards and a touchdown under duress. In 2012, I’d say Luck was best in the league under pressure — and he did it again this year, throwing for seven touchdowns with guys surrounding him and clouding his vision.
And if the Patriots get to the Super Bowl, they could face either the Seahawks or the Packers, both of whom also have quarterbacks known for extending plays with their speed. Also, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers’ injured calf was the talk of the town leading up to his divisional matchup with the Cowboys. Even with the injured calf, Rodgers was able complete two of four passes from outside the pocket — both for touchdowns.
The news that Brady’s counterpart on the Broncos, Peyton Manning, played against Indianapolis with a torn right quadricep and only completed six of 21 attempts that went past five yards — overthrowing eight of those attempts — showed that legs are a crucial body part even for quarterbacks who tend to make money with their arms. Thus, come Saturday and Sunday, I won’t be saying, “may the best man win,” but, “may the man with the best legs win.”
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