FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a 1-yard pass to Danny Amendola in the second quarter Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars to record the 400th passing touchdown during the regular season of his 16-year career.
Brady and Bill Belichick touched on the upcoming milestone this week, saying it isn’t at the forefront of their thinking.
As for what’s on our mind, how about a ranking of the "12" best and most memorable of Brady’s 399 touchdown strikes? even though the milestone doesn’t include postseason touchdowns (he has 53 of those), this list includes three postseason scores because any list of most memorable TD passes needs at least a few postseason mentions. Here goes:
1. Randy Moss for 65 yards; Patriots at Giants, Dec. 29, 2007. One of the most exciting games in regular-season history, the atmosphere was Super Bowl-like in the Meadowlands as the Patriots were looking to complete a 16-0 regular season. Combine that slice of history with a play in which Brady and Moss set records for most touchdown passes in a season and most touchdown catches in a season, and it was Hollywood-script type stuff. That Brady and Moss had just missed on a long connection down the right side on the prior play made this record-setting play stand out that much more.
2. Troy Brown for 82 yards; Patriots at Dolphins, Oct. 19, 2003. In their previous 13 games played in South Florida in September or October, the Patriots were 0-13, which made Brady’s long bomb to Brown in overtime such an unforgettable play. Brady had backpedaled out of the pocket to his left before setting his feet and uncorking the long bomb. Belichick threw his headset in the air in excitement as a result of the play.
3. David Patten for 8 yards; Patriots vs. Rams. Feb. 3, 2002. A touchdown strike in Super Bowl XXXVI to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, it is arguably the signature Super Bowl-scoring toss thrown by Brady. Patten leaped in the back-right corner of the end zone to bring it in. It lands high on the list because of the high stakes and where Brady was at that point of his career.
4. Patten for 91 yards; Patriots at Colts, Oct. 21, 2001. In Brady’s first year as a starter, he aired it out to the speedy Patten, who had run a post pattern up the left side to record what was the longest play from scrimmage in team history at that point. The play helped the Patriots win on the road for just the third time in their last 17 tries. The question asked around New England at the time: Is it possible this Brady kid is for real?
5. Kenbrell Thompkins for 17 yards; Saints at Patriots, Oct. 13, 2013. Such a dramatic play, coming with five seconds left, as the Patriots had the ball at their own 30 with no timeouts and 1:13 remaining, needing a touchdown as they faced a 27-23 deficit. The margin for error was thin, and the window in which Brady dropped the ball into Thompkins up the left side was even smaller. Many fans had left early, thinking a comeback was out of question.
6. Brandon LaFell for 23 yards; Ravens at Patriots, Jan. 10, 2015. A brilliant high-arcing throw to the left pylon, it was the go-ahead score in the team’s 35-31 comeback victory in the playoff game that will be remembered for the Patriots making eligible receivers ineligible as that tactic stunted the Ravens’ momentum. LaFell did his part to make it memorable, catching it with one hand.
7. Deion Branch for 59 yards; Patriots at Bears, Dec. 12, 2010. One of the underrated aspects of Brady’s game is how he excels in nasty conditions, and it was cold, windy and snowy at Soldier Field on this day. It was almost as if Brady was immune to it all, his ball cutting through the elements, as he delivered a 59-yard touchdown strike to Branch up the left sideline as time expired in the first half. You’re not supposed to be able to throw it like that on those days. Branch for a 60-yard score in the 2004 AFC title game easily could have qualified as well.
8. Jabar Gaffney for 56 yards; Steelers at Patriots, Dec. 9, 2007. A double-lateral play on the first possession of the second half wasn’t perfectly executed but still produced the desired result. Brady first fired a low lateral to Moss, who had trouble with it initially, before throwing it back to Brady. Then Brady fired downfield to Gaffney, who beat safety Anthony Smith, the player who had guaranteed a Steelers' victory on that day.
9. Wes Welker for 99 yards; Patriots at Dolphins, Sept. 12, 2011. The longest throw of Brady’s career came on ESPN’s Monday Night Football on opening weekend with the quarterback throwing from his end zone late in the fourth quarter and connecting with Welker at the 20. The receiver then ran the remaining 80 yards to close out the win.
10. Benjamin Watson for 16 yards; Bills at Patriots, Sept. 14, 2009. Capping off a dramatic comeback from a 24-13 deficit with 5:23 remaining in the game, Brady fired a 16-yard dart to Watson’s back shoulder in a nail-biting, season-opening game. The Patriots were in their red throwback uniforms that day as the performance provided a reminder of Brady’s clutch play over the years. He has 37 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in the regular season.
11. Welker for 6 yards; Jaguars at Patriots, Jan. 12, 2008. This one finds a place on this list for the theatrics. Brady gathered in a shotgun snap, then raised his left hand high in the air to simulate an action as if the ball went over his head as he turned his back to the line of scrimmage. Once he reset in the pocket, he fired to a wide-open Welker in the back of the end zone. Brady was 26-of-28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns in an epic playoff performance.
12. Moss for 50 yards; Patriots at Dolphins, Oct. 21, 2007. Brady heaved this one up into double coverage, and Moss made a one-handed grab. Yes, it was as much about the catch as the throw, but the Brady-to-Moss connection has to be prominently featured in any Brady touchdown compilation because of how lethal they were, especially in 2007. So it’s fitting a Brady-to-Moss connection bookends this list.
