Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is leading the league in passing yards and on pace to throw for an NFL record 5,596 yards this season. But a look at Brady’s stats through four games reveal some troubling signs as well.
First and foremost, Brady has been sacked 13 times this season. That’s a sharp increase over what Brady is accustomed to; he was only sacked 15 times all of last season.
With 13 sacks a quarter of the way through the season, Brady is on pace to get sacked 52 times this season. That would be the worst of his career: His previous high was 41 sacks in 2001, the year he replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe and became the Patriots’ starter.
And that raises a question about just how many hits Brady can take. At age 40 he hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down, but everyone can get injured, and a quarterback who’s getting sacked a lot is at a greater risk of getting injured.
The 2-2 Patriots’ biggest problem is on defense, but their offense has a problem, too. Brady needs to stay upright.