On Sept. 1, Tom Brady still was suspended four games for his alleged role in Deflategate.
What a difference a month makes.
The New England Patriots quarterback has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, the NFL announced Thursday. It’s the eighth time in Brady’s career that he has earned a monthly honor, his previous coming in October 2014.
Brady certainly is deserving of the recognition, as he has torn through opposing defenses during the Patriots’ 3-0 start. He’s the only quarterback in the league with over 1,000 passing yards (1,112), and he has thrown for nine touchdowns and zero interceptions, second only to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (10 TDs, zero picks). Brady has completed 72.2 percent of his passes so far, and his 96 completions are the most by any player in NFL history through three games.
It’s likely a pretty sweet moment for Brady, who lost out on AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Week 2 despite throwing for 446 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills.
Brady wasn’t the only Patriot to earn honors from the league. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the third time in his career after going a perfect 7-for-7 on field goals and 14-for-14 on extra points. He leads the NFL with 35 total points and also set the record for most consecutive extra points made with 425.
