Ranking Tom Brady s 50 greatest games ever for Patriots Bucs

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Tom Brady retires from the NFL having started a record 381 games at quarterback, including the playoffs. His teams won 286 of those games, and Brady played well in almost all of those wins. There were a lot of memorable games throughout his 23-year career in the NFL, but which were his best performances?

To figure out Brady's most valuable games, we need a stat that balances efficiency and volume. We'll want to consider how well Brady played against the best pass defenses and the changing standards for offense in the NFL, as passing the ball was a lot easier in Brady's three Tampa Bay seasons compared to his early years with the New England Patriots 20 years ago.

Football Outsiders' DYAR (Defense-adjusted Value Above Replacement) takes care of all these considerations. It's based on DVOA ratings that rate the success on every play compared to a league-average baseline and then adjust based on situation and opponent.

But DYAR is a total value stat that compares quarterbacks to the expected level of a replacement-level (typical backup) and gives more value for throwing more passes as long as those passes are efficient. We've also added in rushing value, although that's not frequently a big part of Brady's game.

Below, we've ranked Tom Brady's top 50 games based on DYAR, from his second season as a starter in New England to this last season in Tampa Bay. There are a lot of memories here and a lot of great receivers catching a lot of great passes. You'll also notice a few trends. Eleven of the 50 games are against New England's division rivals in the AFC East (comprising 22% of this list) and six are against the Pittsburgh Steelers (12%). Eight of the 45-year-old's best 50 games (16%) came in the past two seasons with the Buccaneers. 

Almost every game here is a win for Brady's team, because Brady didn't lose a lot of games and didn't have a history of great performances when his team did lose. Only two games in our top 50 were losses. One will surprise you at No. 40. The other one will not surprise you at No. 4. I also included Brady's five worst games according to DYAR for old times' sake.

Let's start the countdown to No. 1 with a Super Bowl win, shall we? (This piece was originally published on Feb. 9, 2022, and updated on Feb. 1, 2023.)

50. 2003 Super Bowl XXXVIII: NE 32, CAR 29  (189 DYAR) Stats: 32-48, 354 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

Brady's Super Bowl appearances were legendary for their late comebacks, but not for his total performances. Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, for example, does not appear here because Brady's terrible first half cancels out his great second half.

Only two Super Bowls make our top 50 list, starting with this Super Bowl after the 2003 season. Brady threw touchdown passes to Deion Branch, David Givens and Mike Vrabel, but Jake Delhomme matched him throw-for-throw until a final drive put the Patriots in field goal range and Adam Vinatieri delivered the win with nine seconds left.

49. 2017 Week 8: NE 21, LAC 13  (190 DYAR) Stats: 32-47, 333 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

The Patriots had 30 more plays than the Chargers but just couldn't put the ball in the end zone. Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 2-yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter, but the rest of the scoring came on four field goals and a safety. Still, Brady put up over 300 yards against a top-10 passing defense, so this game makes our list.

48. 2007 Week 12: NE 31, PHI 28  (191 DYAR) Stats: 34-54, 380 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Here's the first of 11 different games from Brady's incredible 2007 season to make our top 50. Brady kept the Patriots in a surprisingly close game against A.J. Feeley (!) and the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing the ball a ton to move the ball because the Eagles completely shut down the Patriots' run game.

Patriots running backs had 13 carries for just 32 yards, although they did have two touchdowns on the ground and only one in the air (to Jabar Gaffney). Brady completed 10 of 13 passes on third downs for 156 yards and nine conversions.

47. 2021 Week 18: TB 41, CAR 17  (193 DYAR) Stats: 29-37, 326 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Brady's final game of the 2021 season started slow and ended with a flourish. Tampa Bay only had the ball for a three-and-out in the first quarter, and Brady didn't have a touchdown until a 1-yard pass to Le'Veon Bell with 19 seconds left in the second quarter.

Then the Bucs outscored the Panthers 24-7 in the second half, with Brady throwing two touchdown passes to Mike Evans. Brady had 161 DYAR of his 193 DYAR total in the second half, with over 10 yards per pass attempt.

46. 2020 Week 10: TB 46, CAR 23  (193 DYAR) Stats: 28-39, 341 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

This was a good example of Brady spreading it around to his new Tampa Bay teammates. Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown each had more than 60 receiving yards, and Evans, Gronkowski and Cameron Brate each caught touchdown passes. Brady was 9 of 11 on third down with 142 passing yards and eight conversions (plus a sack).

45. 2007 Week 2: NE 38, SD 14  (194 DYAR) Stats: 25-31, 279 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

This was a Sunday night game right after the first Spygate reports had hit the media, and the Patriots put the league on notice by taking a 24-0 lead into halftime. Brady threw two touchdown passes to Randy Moss and one to Benjamin Watson against a Chargers defense that would finish the season ranked fourth in pass defense DVOA. Brady threw only four passes on third down because he was 13-of-14 for 170 yards with nine conversions on second downs, plus a 25-yard DPI.

44. 2007 Week 3: NE 38, BUF 7  (197 DYAR) Stats: 23-29, 311 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Instead of getting out to a big lead, the Patriots scored gradually in this game. They were losing 7-3 after the first quarter. Then Brady threw short touchdown passes to Watson and Moss in the second quarter and another one to Gaffney in the third quarter. The cherry on top was a 45-yard bomb to Moss, who beat Jabari Greer deep in the fourth quarter to solidify the 38-7 final score.

43. 2012 Week 11: NE 59, IND 24  (202 DYAR) Stats: 24-35, 331 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Brady had three passing touchdowns, two to Gronkowski, but most of the Patriots' scoring came in other ways: two pick-sixes, two late rushing touchdowns and a punt return touchdown by Edelman.

42. 2015 Week 3: NE 51, JAX 17  (203 DYAR) Stats: 33-42, 358 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

This game was primarily about Brady getting other Patriots in position to score. The Patriots had four rushing touchdowns, with LeGarrette Blount scoring three of them from the 1-yard line. Stephen Gostkowski had three field goals, one of them from just 20 yards out. But Brady did eventually get passing touchdowns, a 1-yarder to Danny Amendola and a 13-yarder to Keshawn Martin. Martin may be the most obscure of the Brady targets mentioned in this article; do New England fans remember this onetime Houston fourth-round pick starting eight games for the Pats in 2015?

41. 2006 Week 8: NE 31, MIN 7  (204 DYAR) Stats: 29-43, 379 Yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

A receiving corps led by Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel made 2006 a relatively down season for Brady, and this Monday night contest is the only game from that season on our top 50 list. (There are no games from 2001, 2005 and, surprisingly, 2018.)

Brady threw touchdown passes to Caldwell, Watson, Troy Brown and Chad Jackson. He was unstoppable on first downs in this game: 20-of-23 for 239 yards with three touchdowns and a sack. Brady may have been outshined on this night by the Patriots defense, which picked off Minnesota quarterbacks four times and didn't allow any points. (Minnesota's lone touchdown came on a Mewelde Moore punt return.)

40. 2022 Week 4: KC 41, TB 31 (204 DYAR)

Stats: 39-52, 385 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

It may be strange to see a game on this list where Brady's team was never really competitive, but that wasn't really Brady's fault. As in many games from his final season, Brady simply couldn't overcome a miserable performance from his running game: six carries for three yards. Brady found Mike Evans for two touchdowns in the second quarter to get the score to 28-17 at halftime, but the Buccaneers defense couldn't stop the powerful Kansas City offense at all.

39. 2012 Week 14: NE 42, HOU 14  (206 DYAR) Stats: 21-35, 296 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Also known as the "Texans Varsity Jackets" game. The Texans came into Monday Night Football with an 11-1 record, only to see the 9-3 Patriots go up on them 28-0 after Brady's 63-yard touchdown pass to Donte' Stallworth in the third quarter. Brady's other touchdowns were to Aaron Hernandez (two) and Brandon Lloyd.

38. 2021 Week 1: TB 31, DAL 29  (208 DYAR) Stats: 32-50, 379 Yards, 4 TD, 2 INT

The 2021 season opener against the season's second-best pass defense by DVOA featured touchdown passes to Godwin, Brown and Gronkowski (twice). Brady also threw two interceptions, but one of them was a meaningless 50-yard Hail Mary heave at the end of the first half.

Brady was driving for a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Godwin fumbled just 2 yards from the end zone. Brady then had to lead another drive with 1:24 left after Dallas kicked a field goal to take the lead. The drive was successful, of course, with Ryan Succop giving Tampa Bay the lead on a field goal with seven seconds remaining.

37. 2010 Week 12: NE 45, DET 24  (210 DYAR) Stats: 21-27, 341 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

The 2010 Patriots had the second-best offense ever tracked by DVOA, trailing only the 2007 Patriots. But Brady spread his greatness evenly across most of the season, so only three specific games had enough DYAR to make our top 50 list. The lowest of the three is this Thanksgiving outing against a surprisingly above-average Detroit Lions pass defense.

The Patriots were losing to the 2-8 Lions midway through the third quarter until Brady threw the ball 40 yards down the left sideline to Branch, who reversed field a couple of times on outmatched Lions cornerback Alphonso Smith and ran the last 39 yards after the catch for the game-tying touchdown. After that, the Patriots scored the final 28 points, including fourth-quarter touchdowns to both Branch (his second of the game) and Welker (also his second of the game).

36. 2009 Week 16: NE 35, JAX 7  (211 DYAR) Stats: 23-26, 267 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

This game doesn't have the volume to appear higher on our list, since Brady threw only 26 passes, but he was nearly perfect with more touchdowns than incomplete passes. However, this game gets significantly penalized by opponent adjustments since the Jaguars had the worst pass defense DVOA in the league in 2009. Brady threw three touchdown passes to Moss (2, 6 and 17 yards) as well as a 26-yard touchdown to tight end Chris Baker.

35. 2016 Week 6: NE 35, CIN 17  (212 DYAR) Stats: 29-35, 376 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Another day with more than 350 passing yards against a top-10 pass defense for Brady. He wasn't great in the first half, although he did have a 15-yard touchdown pass to James White. He turned it on after the Bengals took a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter. Of his 212 DYAR, 175 came in the second half along with two touchdown passes, one to Gronkowski (who had 162 yards for the entire game) and a second to White. Brady completed 17 of 19 passes in the second half.

34. 2016 AFC Championship Game: NE 36, PIT 17  (217 DYAR) Stats: 32-41, 384 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Chris Hogan was the big star, catching nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Edelman added eight catches for 118 yards and one touchdown. Brady had eight completions over 15 yards and they all went to either Hogan or Edelman. Brady also moved the chains on seven out of 10 third-down throws, although he did take two sacks on third down as well.

33. 2020 Week 7: TB 45, LV 20  (218 DYAR) Stats: 33-43, 369 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Brady started out with a 1-yard QB sneak touchdown, then threw touchdown passes to Gronkowski, Scott Miller, Godwin and Tyler Johnson. This game has the strongest penalty from opponent adjustments of any game in the top 50, as Brady threw 43 passes against a Raiders defense that finished the season 26th in pass defense DVOA (and dead last against the pass on third down).

32. 2003 Week 9: NE 30, DEN 26  (219 DYAR) Stats: 20-35, 350 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

This Monday night game in Denver didn't start well, but it ended well for Brady. On the first two drives, Brady fumbled away a bad snap and then threw an interception that bounced off Givens' hands and into the arms of Denver's Kenoy Kennedy. Then Brady righted the ship and found Branch on a 66-yard play-action bomb for a touchdown.

Patriots fans probably remember this game for the ending, as the Patriots took an intentional safety with 2:49 left. That gave the Broncos a 26-23 lead, but the Patriots stopped the next drive and got the ball back with 2:15 left. Brady led a comeback drive and completed a 16-yard pass to Kevin Faulk on third-and-10 followed by an 18-yard touchdown to Givens for the comeback win.

31. 2011 Week 10: NE 37, NYJ 16  (222 DYAR) Stats: 27-39, 329 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Here's another big Gronk game against the defense that finished the season ranked third against the pass by DVOA. New England's second-year tight end had eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Branch caught Brady's other touchdown pass. But it wasn't all perfect for Brady. Early in the game he cost the Patriots a safety by getting flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone.

30. 2015 Week 1: NE 28, PIT 21  (222 DYAR) Stats: 25-32, 288 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

The 2015 season opener was all tight ends, all the time. Gronkowski had three different touchdown receptions with 94 receiving yards. Brady's fourth touchdown went to second tight end Scott Chandler. Even Heath Miller had eight catches for 84 yards for the Steelers.

29. 2021 Week 14: TB 33, BUF 27  (223 DYAR) Stats: 31-46, 363 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Brady was excellent in the first half of this game, with Tampa Bay taking a 24-3 lead into halftime. Brady had a 13-yard touchdown pass to Evans and a sneak from the 1 for a rushing touchdown. But he struggled in the second half against the Bills team that finished the season as the No. 1 pass defense of 2021 by DVOA. He had only 3.9 net yards per pass in the third and fourth quarters as the Bills tied things up and sent it to overtime at 27-27.

Everything turned around again in the overtime period. On third-and-3, Brady faced down a blitz to hit Breshad Perriman on a short cross and Perriman outraced linebacker Tremaine Edmunds all the way for a 58-yard game-winning touchdown.

28. 2012 Divisional: NE 41, HOU 28  (224 DYAR) Stats: 25-40, 344 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

"Varsity Jackets: The Rematch" brought another prime Brady performance against a Texans defense that ranked fourth in pass defense DVOA in 2012. Brady threw two touchdown passes to Vereen and one to Lloyd as the Patriots took a 38-13 lead before allowing a couple of late touchdowns.

27. 2004 Week 4: NE 31, BUF 17  (224 DYAR) Stats: 17-30, 298 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

This game gets a significant boost from opponent adjustments, as the Bills led the league in pass defense DVOA in 2004. This was the only game of the 2004 season where the Bills didn't sack the opposing quarterback. David Patten led the Patriots with five catches for 113 yards and a 30-yard touchdown. Brady's other touchdown was a 2-yarder to tight end Daniel Graham.

26. 2011 Week 1: NE 38, MIA 24  (225 DYAR) Stats: 32-48, 517 Yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

This Monday night opener against Miami was Brady's greatest game in terms of passing yardage. It doesn't do quite as well in DYAR because it took Brady 48 attempts to get to that yardage total, and he "only" completed 67% of his passes with a sack and an interception against a league-average Dolphins pass defense.

Welker was the star, with eight catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and both tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski each caught a touchdown pass as well. Also notable: the rare game where Matthew Slater played on offense -- he beat Vontae Davis deep for a 46-yard reception early in the game.

25. 2019 Week 1: NE 33, PIT 3  (228 DYAR) Stats: 24-36, 341 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

The eventual struggles of the 2019 New England offense seemed a long way away when the Patriots smashed the Steelers on the first Sunday night of the season. It was a big night for Phillip Dorsett, who caught all four of his targets for 95 yards and two touchdowns. The second one was a 58-yard bomb where Dorsett had gotten almost 10 yards behind Pittsburgh safeties Terrell Edmunds and Kameron Kelly. Josh Gordon also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass. This game gets a good bonus in the opponent adjustments, as the Steelers ranked third in pass defense DVOA in 2019.

24. 2007 Week 17: NE 38, NYG 35  (230 DYAR) Stats: 32-42, 356 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

This was the game that solidified the perfect regular season, a game so big it was simulcast on three different networks. Early on, Brady had a 4-yard touchdown pass to Moss, but otherwise the Patriots were stalling out at the edge of the red zone, leading to three Gostkowski field goals in the first half.

At one point, the Giants had a 28-16 lead before a Laurence Maroney rushing touchdown brought it closer. And then on third-and-10 with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter, Brady launched a deep bomb to Moss, who sped down the right sideline past safety James Butler for a 65-yard touchdown to set the NFL record for touchdowns by both a quarterback (since broken by Peyton Manning) and a wide receiver (a record that still stands).

The Giants only sacked Brady once, a major contrast to the Super Bowl a few weeks later, when they took him down five times.

23. 2007 Week 1: NE 38, NYJ 14  (231 DYAR) Stats: 22-28, 297 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

One of the most interesting questions going into the 2007 NFL season was what to make of Moss. Did the superstar receiver struggle to perform in Oakland because the Raiders were a dismal pit of despair? Or had he truly lost what had once made him great?

This game showed that the answer was clearly "dismal pit of despair." Moss had nine catches on nine targets for 183 yards including a 51-yard touchdown pass where he sped past three different defenders into the left side of the end zone. Brady also threw touchdown passes to another new teammate, Welker, and tight end Watson.

22. 2002 Week 9: NE 38, BUF 7  (235 DYAR) Stats: 22-26, 265 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

This is the earliest Brady game to make our top 50, as none of his games from the 2001 season were strong enough. Antowain Smith had three touchdowns against his old team. One came on the ground and two came through the air on third-and-long passes from Brady.

21. 2011 Week 2: NE 35, SD 21  (239 DYAR) Stats: 31-40, 423 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Brady just destroyed the Chargers on first downs in this game, completing 15 of 17 passes for 200 yards and moving the chains 11 times including all three of his touchdowns. Branch caught eight passes for 129 yards to lead the Patriots but Gronkowski (twice) and Hernandez caught the touchdown passes. This game gets significantly penalized by opponent adjustments since the Chargers had the worst pass defense DVOA in the league in 2011.

20. 2009 Week 1: NE 25, BUF 24  (241 DYAR) Stats: 39-53, 378 Yards, 2 TD, 1 INT

This game has the strongest opponent adjustment of any game in the top 50, as Brady threw 53 passes against the Buffalo defense that finished the season No. 2 in pass defense DVOA. Brady started slowly, throwing for only one first down with two three-and-outs in the first quarter. Then he turned things on, and 228 of his 241 DYAR came after halftime. Eventually, he rallied the Patriots back from a 24-13 deficit to win 25-24 thanks to two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tight end Watson.

19. 2007 Divisional Round: NE 31, JAX 20  (244 DYAR) Stats: 26-28, 262 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Here's another game where Brady had more touchdowns than incomplete passes, and Brady had a big game against a top-10 Jacksonville pass defense even though Moss only caught one pass for 14 yards. Brady was particularly strong in the red zone, completing 8 of 9 passes with all three touchdowns: two for Watson and one for Welker.

18. 2017 AFC Championship Game: NE 24, JAX 20  (247 DYAR) Stats: 26-38, 290 Yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

The Jaguars took a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter and then Brady found Danny Amendola for two touchdown passes, the last one giving the Patriots the lead with 2:48 left and sending them to their second straight Super Bowl (and third in four seasons). This game gets a significant boost from opponent adjustments, as the Jaguars led the league in pass defense DVOA in 2017.

17. 2013 Week 9: NE 55, PIT 31  (247 DYAR) Stats: 23-33, 432 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Brady's best game of the 2013 season was a shootout against frequent rival Pittsburgh. The Patriots started strong with Brady throwing touchdown passes to Amendola and Gronkowski early on, but the Steelers caught up to make it 24-24 halfway through the third quarter. Then Dobson had the biggest game of his career, all in one half: two touchdown catches of 17 yards (a back-shoulder fade in the front left corner of the end zone) and 81 yards (on a deep bomb speeding away from Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark). Dobson, Gronkowski and Amendola each had at least 120 yards while Edelman had just one catch for 11 yards. Frequent Patriots-dominator Jerricho Cotchery had three touchdown receptions for Pittsburgh.

16. 2014 Week 6: NE 37, BUF 22  (251 DYAR) Stats: 27-37, 361 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

Brady started this game slowly, despite a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tim Wright in the second quarter. At halftime he had less than 100 yards passing and two sacks. But he was on fire in the second half: 15-of-17 for 274 yards plus a 17-yard DPI.

Brady had 227 of his 251 DYAR in the second half and three touchdowns: a 43-yard bomb to Brian Tyms (another candidate for "most obscure Brady receiver") and then touchdowns of 18 and 56 yards to Brandon LaFell. This is another game with strong opponent adjustments, as the Bills led the league in pass defense DVOA in 2014.

15. 2007 Week 8: NE 52, WAS 7  (252 DYAR) Stats: 29-38, 306 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Here's one of the secrets of Brady's incredible, record-setting 2007 season: The Patriots actually played a hard schedule of opposing pass defenses! There are 11 games from 2007 on this list, and five of them came against teams that ranked in the top 10 for pass defense DVOA, including Washington.

Brady threw touchdown passes to Mike Vrabel, Moss and Welker, all six yards or fewer. This game also had one of Brady's best rushing performances, with four carries for 14 yards. He started with a 3-yard scramble touchdown on third-and-goal, then scrambled for another first down on third-and-6. Then he snuck a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 2, and finally he converted fourth-and-1 with another sneak.

14. 2010 Week 13: NE 45, NYJ 3  (256 DYAR) Stats: 21-29, 326 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

This was a Monday night domination of the unfortunate Jets, who couldn't stop Brady or get anything going for their own offense. The first touchdown pass was a 25-yarder to Branch on fourth-and-3 near the end of the first quarter. That gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead, and after Nick Folk kicked a field goal for the Jets, the Patriots piled on another 28 points including touchdown passes to Brandon Tate, Welker and Hernandez. The Jets got their revenge two months later with a huge 28-21 upset of the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in the divisional round.

13. 2014 Week 8: NE 51, CHI 23  (258 DYAR) Stats: 30-35, 354 Yards, 5 TD, 0 INT

Another dominating Brady performance with another dominating run on third downs: 7 of 8 for 121 yards, with each reception moving the chains and one a touchdown. That was a 46-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski on third-and-4 where Gronk rumbled for 33 yards after the catch. It was one of Gronkowski's three touchdowns, as he caught all nine of his targets for 149 yards.

Gronk wasn't alone in catching all of his targets: Brandon LaFell caught 11 of 11 for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Tim Wright caught 7 of 7 for 61 yards and a touchdown. This one does get adjusted down a bit because Chicago ranked 29th in pass defense DVOA in 2014.

12. 2011 Divisional Round: NE 45, DEN 10  (265 DYAR) Stats: 26-34, 363 Yards, 6 TD, 1 INT

The Patriots shut down TebowMania in 2011 divisional round, replacing it with GronkMania. Gronkowski caught 10 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Hernandez, Branch and Welker each had a receiving touchdown as well. Brady was 5-of-5 in the red zone for 65 yards, and all five of those passes was a touchdown. Brady also had a punt in this game! With a 45-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, Bill Belichick had Brady quick-punt on third-and-10 from the Patriots 42. Brady managed to punt the ball 48 yards to the Denver 10, the longest of his three career punts.

11. 2012 Week 8: NE 45, STL 7  (265 DYAR) Stats: 23-35, 304 Yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

The Rams took a 7-0 lead on a 50-yard Sam Bradford touchdown pass to Chris Givens, and the Patriots reeled off 45 straight points. Brady threw two touchdown passes each to Lloyd and Gronkowski. He converted on 5 of 7 third-down passes and converted three other third downs with defensive pass interference flags.

10. 2007 Week 6: NE 48, DAL 27  (268 DYAR) Stats: 31-46, 388 Yards, 5 TD, 0 INT

The Patriots and Cowboys both entered at 5-0, and the Cowboys took a 24-21 lead right after halftime, but the Patriots roared back with 27 points in the final 20 minutes. Brady had another ridiculous performance on third down in this one. He completed 11 of 13 passes for 167 yards and 10 conversions, including two touchdown passes. (He did take a third-down sack as well.) Welker had two touchdown catches in this game, with the others going to Moss, Kyle Brady and Donte' Stallworth.

9. 2007 Week 14: NE 34, PIT 13  (275 DYAR) Stats: 32-46, 399 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

The Steelers came in 9-3 and kept it close in the first half, but the Patriots outscored them 17-0 in the second half to keep their perfect 2007 season going. Brady threw two touchdown passes to Moss, plus one each to Gaffney and Welker.

8. 2010 Week 10: NE 39, PIT 26  (279 DYAR) Stats: 31-43, 350 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Gronkowski was a rookie in 2010, but come on, did Gronk ever play like a rookie? All three of Brady's passing touchdowns went to Gronkowski, for 19, 9 and 25 yards. Brady also had a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Pittsburgh was the No. 2 pass defense in the league by DVOA in 2010 and this was the only game all season where the Steelers did not sack the opposing quarterback.

7. 2021 Week 5: TB 45, MIA 17  (283 DYAR) Stats: 30-40, 411 Yards, 5 TD, 0 INT

Brady and the Buccaneers' offense just overwhelmed the Dolphins in this game, as Brady had five passing touchdowns. Brady let Brown do the work on a 62-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter where Brown caught the ball coming across the field about 8 yards past the line of scrimmage and then outraced three Dolphins defenders for 54 yards after the catch.

But Brady also had great throws like a bullet that went past Xavien Howard for a 4-yard touchdown by Brown later in the second quarter, and a perfect 34-yard "drop in the bucket" pass to Evans streaking into the end zone, one of two Evans touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

6. 2011 Week 12: NE 38, PHI 20  (283 DYAR) Stats: 24-34, 361 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Branch and Welker each went over 100 yards, but it was Welker who had the two touchdown catches. Gronkowski also caught a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but really Brady should have had five passing touchdowns in this game. Early in the second quarter, he hit a wide-open Tiquan Underwood, who dropped a sure deep touchdown pass. On the next play, Brady hit Branch deep for 63 yards, but Branch was tackled a yard from the end zone, so BenJarvus Green-Ellis got to vulture the touchdown.

Brady also had four carries for 29 yards in this game: 21 yards on two scrambles and 8 yards on two QB sneaks. (Yes, the Patriots ran a surprise QB sneak on first-and-10 and got 6 yards.)

5. 2007 Week 7: NE 49, MIA 28  (290 DYAR) Stats: 21-25, 354 Yards, 6 TD, 0 INT

Another game where Brady had more touchdown passes than incomplete passes. He was so good on first and second down that he only had to throw four passes on third down. One of them was a 50-yard touchdown pass to Moss on third-and-18. Moss also had a 35-yard touchdown, Welker had two touchdowns, and Kyle Brady and Stallworth each had one. This would be Brady's most valuable game without opponent adjustments, but Miami's pass defense ranked 30th in DVOA in 2007c, so it takes a bit of a hit in our numbers.

4. 2017 Super Bowl LII: PHI 41, NE 33  (291 DYAR) Stats: 28-46, 505 Yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

Here it is, by far Brady's best performance in a loss. The Patriots just kept throwing and throwing, and the Eagles' offense just kept matching it all game. Brady threw two touchdown passes to Gronkowski and one to Hogan, all in the second half. He was particularly strong on late downs. He converted 5 of 8 third downs, including a 50-yard gain to Amendola, and he also converted a desperation fourth-and-10 as the Patriots tried to come back with their final drive. DVOA ranked Philadelphia as the No. 8 pass defense in the league in 2017.

After Super Bowl LII, Brady's best performances in losses weren't quite high enough to make this top-50 list. His best regular-season losses were both against Carolina: 2013's Week 11 (183 DYAR) and 2017's Week 4 (182 DYAR).

3. 2009 Week 6: NE 59, TEN 0  (294 DYAR) Stats: 29-34, 380 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT

With both teams wearing AFL throwback uniforms in a freak October snowstorm, the Patriots just toyed with the Titans all day. It's possible there has never been a greater discrepancy between two quarterbacks in a game. While Brady was throwing more touchdowns than incomplete passes, Kerry Collins of the Titans was completing 2 of 2 passes for minus-7 yards with an interception.

The Patriots already had a 10-0 lead when Brady hit Moss for a 40-yard touchdown on a flea-flicker in the second quarter. A few minutes later, Brady scrambled to avoid pressure and found Moss for a 28-yard touchdown. The third touchdown was a 38-yard screen pass to Faulk. Then came two wide-open touchdown passes to Welker, 30 and 5 yards. That's five passing touchdowns in one quarter of play. Brady finished things off with one more 9-yard touchdown pass to Moss in the third quarter.

2. 2007 Week 11: NE 56, BUF 10  (298 DYAR) Stats: 31-39, 373 Yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT

Brady and Moss went off under the bright lights of a nationally televised Sunday night game, combining for four touchdowns -- all in the first half of play. The first one featured Moss backpedaling into the end zone past safety George Wilson for 43 yards. He did the second primarily with yards after the catch, juking Terrence McGee out of his shoes. The third was a fade-stop in the end zone, and Moss jumped over Donte Whitner for the fourth.

Later on, Brady would throw a fifth touchdown pass to Watson on fourth-and-one from the 10. The Patriots scored touchdowns on their first seven straight possessions, later adding an eighth touchdown on a fumble return.

1. 2017 Week 2: NE 36, NO 20  (303 DYAR) Stats: 30-39, 447 Yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

The defending champion Patriots had been stomped 42-27 by Kansas City the week before, so they had something to prove on the road in New Orleans. They proved it by gaining a total of 555 yards, most of it on passes by Brady. He threw touchdown passes to Gronkowski, Hogan and Rex Burkhead as the Patriots took a 20-3 lead after the first quarter and had a 30-13 lead going into halftime.

A game with only three passing touchdowns might be a surprising pick as Brady's most valuable game, but his performance here gets a big boost from our opponent adjustments. The Saints ranked fifth in pass defense DVOA in 2017; more specifically, they were the No. 1 pass defense on first downs. And on first downs in this game, Brady completed 15 of 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, moving the chains eight times. Without opponent adjustments, this game would rank only 11th. With opponent adjustments, it is No. 1.

Tom Brady's five worst games 5. 2014 Week 4: KC 41, NE 14  (minus-115 DYAR) Stats: 14-23, 159 Yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

This was an embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football that had some wondering if the Patriots' dynasty was officially over. It was not.

4. 2013 Week 7: NYJ 30, NE 27  (minus-142 DYAR) Stats: 22-46, 228 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

This game included four Brady sacks and a pick-six by Antonio Allen. The Patriots had their own pick-six, and two fourth-quarter Gostkowski field goals sent the game to overtime despite Brady's struggles. The Patriots won the coin toss, but Brady could only get one first down before punting, and the Jets marched down the field to win.

3. 2009 Wild-Card Game: BAL 33, NE 14  (minus-146 DYAR) Stats: 23-42, 154 Yards, 2 TD, 3 INT

Ray Rice went 83 yards for a touchdown on the first play. Then, on the ensuing drive, Brady was sacked by Terrell Suggs and fumbled the ball away on his own 17. The Ravens eventually took a 24-0 lead, but Brady's career certainly had better comeback attempts than this one.

2. 2020 Week 9: NO 38, TB 3  (minus-166 DYAR) Stats: 23-38, 209 Yards, 0 TD, 3 INT

Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has had Brady's number over the past couple of seasons; this season's 9-0 Saints shutout in Week 15 is Brady's sixth-lowest game.

1. 2003 Week 1: BUF 31, NE 0  (minus-172 DYAR) Stats: 14-29, 123 Yards, 0 TD, 4 INT

The brutal performance that inspired Tom Jackson to say about the Patriots, "They hate their coach."