Brady has 4,897 passing yards through 15 games, which is already the fourth most in one season in NFL history. With 103 yards (Brady has hit that mark in 153 of his 159 regular-season starts), he’ll join Drew Brees (2008, 2011) and Dan Marino (1984) as the only players to reach 5,000 yards in one season, though Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning have outside shots to also reach the milestone.
Of course, Brees (5,087 yards through 15 games) has already broken Marino’s 27-year-old record (5,084 yards), and Brady will likely do the same Sunday. But for Brady to possess the new record, he’ll have to erase Brees’ 190-yard lead, which means Brady might need about 500 yards Sunday.
That, naturally, is a lot less likely to happen. Either way, it doesn’t appear to be high on Brady’s week-long list of priorities.
“You don’t think about it much,” Brady said when asked about getting to 5,000 yards. “You don’t think about touchdowns or yards. What I like to think about is our offensive production, and if we’re getting the ball in the end zone, if we’re winning games, if we’re building on our performance week to week, if we’re getting better over the course of the season. I think those are the things that are probably most on my mind. Personal records and anything like that, really in a team sport to me, there’s just not any emphasis on those. We’re trying to win team awards. That’s certainly what you subscribe to you when you become a member of a team.”
