Tom Brady becomes first 40-year-old quarterback to throw 40 touchdown passes in a season

Tom Brady continues his reign as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, as father’s time has yet to catch up with the future Hall of Famer. Brady has just completed an impressive regular season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing in the top three in the league in passing yards and touchdowns en route to the Buccaneers’ first playoff spot in 13 years.

Brady finished the season tied for second in the NFL with 40 touchdown passes, becoming the first 40-year-old quarterback in NFL history to reach the 40-pass touchdown mark in one season. Brady is also just the fifth quarterback to hit 40 touchdowns in a season twice, joining Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Dan Marino on this list. He is the second player to throw 40 touchdown passes for two different teams (2007 New England Patriots, 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers), joining Manning in this rare territory (2004 Indianapolis Colts, 2013 Denver Broncos).

He finished the 2020 season completing 65.7% of his passes for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and a 102.2 passer rating. The 40 touchdown passes were Brady’s most important since 2007, and the 4,633 passing yards were the most important Brady had in a season since 2015 (4,770 yards).

The 4,633 passing yards and 40 touchdowns are most important for players aged 40 and over, as Brady broke his own passing yardage record (4,577) and Brett Favre’s passing record for passing touchdown (33) for a player aged 40 or over. Brady has 17,622 passing yards since he was 40, the most in NFL history (Warren Moon is second at 7,148). Brady’s 125 touchdown passes are the most important for a player 40 or older (Drew Brees is second with 51) and his 47 wins in his 40s are the most important in NFL history (Brees and Favre are tied for second with 17).

Brady has won over 11 games in 11 straight seasons and shows no signs of slowing down. At 43, Brady is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.