It would mark his 15th career playoff victory, which would be the most for any quarterback with one team in NFL history. Brady (14-4 postseason record) entered Sunday tied with Joe Montana (14-5 with the 49ers), Terry Bradshaw (14-5 with the Steelers) and John Elway (14-8 with the Broncos). Montana, Bradshaw and Elway are all first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Overall, Montana has the NFL record with 16 playoff victories, including a 2-2 mark with the Chiefs. Brady, Bradshaw and Elway are all tied for second.
Looking further ahead, if the Patriots win Super Bowl XLV, Brady would notch his 17th playoff win to set the all-time record there, and he’d also match Montana and Bradshaw with an all-time high four Super Bowl rings.
Brady would put himself in good position to retain the record for all-time playoff wins because he’s got a cushion over the next crop of active players. Brett Favre, who appears likely to retire this offseason, has 12 playoff victories, while Peyton Manning (nine), Donovan McNabb (nine), Ben Roethlisberger (nine), Jake Delhomme (five), Matt Hasselbeck (five), Drew Brees (four), Joe Flacco (four), Eli Manning (four) are the only active players within 10 wins of Brady.
“Look, we try to win games, you know?” Brady said this week. “Look at what we’ve accomplished over 10 years, and that speaks for the whole preparation of our team. That’s why we play. We play to win games, more so than anything else. We’re not trying to do anything other than win. The goal of playing football is to win, every time you take the field, score more points than the other team. However you need to get that done, that’s what you need to do.”