The Patriots are good all year, every year since Tom Brady became their quarterback. But they are really good in the month of December.
No. 12 has a 54-10 record all time in the 12th month of the year.
“It’s so important [to finish off the regular season strong],” Brady said Friday, via quotes distributed by the team. “I think coach [Bill] Belichick said it best the other day. He said whether you’re 5-5 at this point or 10-0, it really depends on what we do going forward because I was here in 2001 when we were 5-5 and we ended up not losing a game after that. A few years ago we were 10-0 and the season didn’t end very well. I think so much of your season is dependent on how we’re going to do at this point moving forward. We put ourselves in decent position, but we’re going to have to go capitalize.”
It is Brady’s best month. He has won more games in December, with a better winning percentage than any other month. In his 64 career December starts, the star quarterback has completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 15,556 yards with 108 touchdowns and 40 interceptions.
Only Roger Staubach has a better winning percentage in December in NFL history, with the Cowboys’ Hall of Fame quarterback going 17-3 (.850) in his career in the month.
The Patriots won all four of their December games last year. Their last December loss was Dec. 27, 2015, when the Jets beat them 26-20.