Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw four interceptions in a loss to the Bills on Sunday, but he’s also continuing an incredible assault on the NFL’s passing records.
With 387 yards on Sunday, Brady now has 1,327 yards for the season. That’s not just the best yardage total in the league this year by a wide margin, it’s the best that any player has ever had over any three weeks in NFL history. The previous record for most yards over a three-week stretch was 1,257, set by Drew Brees in 2006.
If Brady stays healthy, he has an excellent chance of breaking Dan Marino’s NFL record of 5,084 passing yards, set in 1984. Brady is on pace for an incredible 7,077 yards this season, and although it’s not realistic to think he’s going to keep this pace up, it’s absolutely realistic to think he could average 290 yards a game the rest of the way, which would be enough to break Marino’s record.
Brady is also on pace to throw 59 touchdown passes, which would blow away Brady’s own NFL record of 50.
Of course, Brady is also on pace for 27 interceptions this season, which would be by far the most in his career -- he’s never had more than 14 picks in a season. So Brady hasn’t been perfect, and neither have the Patriots. But that might only improve Brady’s chances of breaking the yardage and touchdown records. Brady is averaging about 45 passes a game, and the Patriots look like they’re going to be in a lot of games where they need Brady to throw 45 times.