FOXBORO, Mass. — By most statistical measurements, this has been a down season for Tom Brady.
Entering Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Jets, the New England Patriots quarterback ranks outside the top 10 in nearly every conventional passing category, including 19th in completion percentage, 17th in passer rating, 13th in yards per attempt and tied for 11th in touchdown passes. The highest he ranks in any standard metric is ninth, in passing yards.
Some advanced stats suggest the criticism of Brady’s play this season might be overblown, but his lack of statistical production likely will wind up costing him a great deal of money.
Through performance-based incentives the Patriots inserted into his contract before the season, the 41-year-old signal-caller reportedly had the chance to earn up to five $1 million bonuses by finishing in the top five in passing yards, yards per attempt, touchdown passes, passer rating or completion percentage. All five of those marks appear out of reach.
Brady, though, brushed off a question about statistics during his Friday afternoon news conference. All he cares about, he said, are the numbers on the scoreboard.
“I’m not a big stat guy,” Brady said. “I’m into wins. Wins is the one — I mean, that’s what we’re here for. There’s a lot of ways you can evaluate stats and so forth, and winning the games is what’s most important.”
The 10-5 Patriots have won fewer games than usual this season — they hadn’t suffered five losses since 2009 — but remain on track for a first-round bye and in contention for the home-field advantage entering Week 17. New England can clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a win over the Jets.
Brady also was asked to give his take on a few particular stats.
On completion percentage: “I think your focus as a quarterback is just making the right play whenever it’s there. You could throw the ball away instead of taking a sack, and it looks like you have a low completion percentage, but you’re making a good play for the team. So I just have to make good plays for the team, and part of it’s just good, solid football and making good decisions, throwing it to guys who are open. Sometimes, ending a drive with a punt is not a bad thing when you consider a lot of other factors. It’s just part of football — making good decisions.”
On touchdown/interception ratio: “The ratio’s not as big a deal to me as the interceptions, because I think the turnovers are what hurt you. If you turn the ball over, you’re not giving yourself an opportunity to score. Whether you throw it in from the 1 or hand it off from the 1, a touchdown is a touchdown. But interceptions are tough to overcome if you’re giving the defense a lot of opportunities to score more points.”
Brady’s 11 interceptions this season — including three in the last two games and four in the last four — are more than he’s thrown a single season since 2013, when he also threw 11. He tossed just 10 total picks in the 2016 and 2017 campaigns combined.
