Well, the New England Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl but Tom Brady did take home an ESPY award on Wednesday Night. Brady, coming off his third MVP season, won the ESPY for Best NFL Player following his 2017 campaign. Brady beat out Todd Gurley, Antonio Brown, and Aaron Donald.
Ok, maybe it’s not a great consolation prize but seeing as we are just weeks away from real football, this a reminder that the soon-to-be 41-year-old quarterback is still very much at the top of his game.
Last year, following a Super Bowl championship in 2016, Brady led the Patriots to a 13-3 record and a third birth in the Super Bowl in the last four seasons. During the year, Brady threw for 4,577 yards, 32 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. The great season earned Brady his third MVP award… at age 40.
His 4,577 yards passing led the entire NFL. It is the third time in his career that he has led the league in passing. The other times came in 2005 (4,110) and 2007 (4,806). Ironically, none of those three instances was a career-high for Brady. Brady threw for 5,235 yards in 2011. Second to Drew Brees who threw for 5,476 yards.
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Ultimately the great year led to another Super Bowl appearance. In that game, Brady threw for a record, 505 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions with a 115.2 quarterback rating. Unfortunately, the Patriots and Brady fell just short of their sixth Super Bowl championship.
In addition to winning the ESPY for ‘Best NFL Player’, Brady was nominated for Best Male Athlete and Best Record-Breaking Performance.
Obviously, none of this makes up for losing the Super Bowl. The real consolation in all this is that the ESPYs are one of the final stages of the NFL offseason. Most teams start training camp within the week and then real football begins. And, of course, so begins the Patriots and Tom Brady’s march for a ninth Super Bowl appearance.
– Ian Glendon is the Editor-In-Chief of Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @iglen31 Follow @FPC_Patriots and Facebook.
