Tom Brady has moved closer towards another NFL record, albeit one he probably isn’t thrilled about having. During Sunday’s game against the Falcons, Brady moved past John Elway as the second-most sacked quarterback in NFL history. Brady, who has been taken down 517 times during his 21-year career, is now behind only Brett Favre on the all-time list. Favre, whose 297 consecutive starts under center is an NFL record, was sacked 525 times during his 20-year career. He has since been inducted in Canton, Ohio.
Brady passed Elway on the all-time list after he was taken down by Falcons linebacker Deion Jones with 13:51 remaining in the second quarter. The sack helped set up Matt Ryan’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley, as the Falcons extended their lead to 14-0.
Entering Sunday, the other active quarterbacks who are in the top 25 on this list include Ben Roethlisberger (who is fourth all-time with 514 sacks), Aaron Rodgers (ninth all-time with 466 career sacks), Philip Rivers (whose 458 sacks is tied for 10th with Hall of Famer Warren Moon), Alex Smith (12th all-time with 429 sacks), Drew Brees (tied for 13th with 417 sacks), Matt Ryan (17th with 402 sacks), Russell Wilson (21st with 387 sacks) and Matthew Stafford (22nd with 384 sacks).
While Brady may soon become the NFL’s most sacked quarterback of all-time, he is also second all-time in career passing yards, as he is now less than 2,000 yards behind Brees, who is playing on Sunday for the first time since sustaining broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung back in Week 10. Brady has passed Brady for No. 1 all-time with 571 touchdown passes, a record Brady is hoping to add to during the final few weeks of the regular season.
Brady is also looking to help lead the Buccaneers to their first playoff berth since 2008. While its hopes of winning the NFC South have all but vanished, Tampa Bay would be the sixth seed in the playoffs started today. The Buccaneers’ first-round opponent would be the Rams, the team Brady defeated to win his sixth Super Bowl as a member of the Patriots.
