Every year Tom Brady seems to insert himself into the NFL MVP discussion. But the 2016 season was supposed to be different.
When Brady missed the first four games of the season after being summoned to Deflategate court, the road to his third MVP award seemed all but impassable. Not that the suspension eliminated him from consideration, but with only 12 games on Brady’s calendar, it appeared too small a window for the four-time Super Bowl champion to contend for the award.
But here’s the thing: He did it anyway. And while Matt Ryan (chosen first-team All Pro at quarterback) and Aaron Rodgers currently have better odds to win MVP this season, Brady is the most deserving of the award.
As Brady watched games from home for the first month, his New England Patriots managed to win three out of four games with backup quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. During that stretch the team averaged 210.8 passing yards and 20.3 points per game—nothing to sneeze at.
Since Touchdown Tom’s return from exile, though, the Patriots have gone 11-1 (a .917 winning clip) and their offence has become a juggernaut, averaging 288.8 passing yards and 30 points.
At the age of 39, Brady showed no signs of slowing down, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns and only two interceptions. (For those keeping score, that touchdown-to-interception ratio is the best in NFL history.) Projected over a full season of play, his numbers stack up like this: 4,739 yards and 37 touchdowns.
This is all even more impressive given that during his suspension Brady couldn’t attend his team practices, games, play catch with his receivers, or go over game film with his team.
Of course, none of this is to denigrate Ryan or Rodgers, who both have strong cases for the season’s top individual honour.
| MVP Candidates | QB Rating | TD:INT | W-L Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | 112.2 | 14.0:1 | 11-1 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 104.2 | 5.7:1 | 10-6 |
| Matt Ryan | 117.1 | 5.4:1 | 11-5 |
Ryan had his best year yet, being named first-team All-Pro ahead of Brady by the Associated Press. He threw for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and led the league in passer rating with 117.1. (Brady finished second with 112.2.)
But Brady gets the edge on Ryan because he did more with less.
Ryan had a respectable running game throughout the season. Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which ranked them fifth in the NFL. The Patriots averaged 3.9 yards per carry, ranking them 24th in the league. In other words, teams didn’t need to fear the Patriots’ running game as they did the Falcons’, which made Matt Ryan’s job a tad less stressful.
Ryan also had the luxury of playing with Julio Jones, who was also named to the All-Pro team, whereas Brady had to overcome injuries to Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski, turning Chris Hogan and James White into legitimate weapons.
Where Brady edges Rodgers is consistency. The Packers lost six games this season and at one point lost four straight. They had to fight and claw their way into the post-season, running the table over their last six games. Brady, meanwhile, played well enough from Day 1 to have the Patriots on cruise control down the stretch, and still managed to put up huge numbers.
While Rodgers and the Packers were battling for a playoff spot, Brady was shredding the Ravens’ defence for 406 yards and three touchdowns and killing Denver’s dreams of repeating as Super Bowl champs.
Then in a New England’s final game of the season in Miami against the division-rival Dolphins, Brady threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Even in the hostile road environment, you could hear the crowd chanting, “MVP! MVP! MVP!”
To put it simply: At an age where most athletes call it quits, Tom Brady has been the best player on the best team, and it only took him 12 games to prove it.