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Watch: 12 unforgettable moments from Tom Brady’s career

By Conor Roche Boston.com Staff,Updated February 1, 2022, 2:49 p.m.
Tom Brady celebrated after the Patriots rallied to defeat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.Jim Davis/Globe Staff/The Boston Globe

Tom Brady made it official Tuesday, retiring from the NFL after 22 seasons, 7 Super Bowl wins, and countless records. While no list could completely sum up Brady’s career accomplishments, here are 12 moments from TB12′s career that are simply worth revisiting.

12. Super Bowl LIII

Brady’s final Super Bowl with the Patriots was arguably his worst game of his Super Bowl victories. Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards with an interception.

While he didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he helped set up the game’s only touchdown when he hit Rob Gronkowski on a 29-yard pass up the seam, getting the Patriots to the Rams’ 2-yard line. Sony Michel ran in for six on the next play, putting the Patriots up 10-3 before ultimately winning 13-3.

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11. Super Bowl XXXIX

Brady’s third Super Bowl win with the Patriots was a relatively tame game, but the star quarterback played well. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 236 yards with two touchdowns, helping wide receiver Deion Branch tie a then-Super Bowl record with 11 catches. While Brady didn’t win Super Bowl MVP, his performance was strong enough to give the Patriots their third Super Bowl win in four years — making their mark as a dynasty.

Honorable mention No. 1: 2004 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots went 14-2 during the 2004 regular season, but one of their two losses came against the Steelers, 34-20.

The Patriots had to go to Pittsburgh again and beat the Steelers if they wanted to keep their hopes of a second straight Super Bowl alive. To make matters worse, Brady dealt with the flu and fever in the lead-up to the game.

That didn’t stop him. On the first play of the team’s second drive, Brady connected with Branch deep for a 60-yard touchdown to put the Patriots up 10-0, giving them control for the evening. Brady completed 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns as the Patriots won, 41-27.

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10. 2017 AFC Championship Game

It looked grim when Rob Gronkowski was knocked out of the game with a concussion and Jacksonville led 14-3.

The Jaguars looked to be in control when they held a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

But on a crucial 3rd-and-18, Brady connected with Danny Amendola for a first down. A 31-yard pass to Phillip Dorsett helped the Patriots score a touchdown later in the drive, cutting the Jaguars’ lead to 20-17.

Two drives later, the Patriots took the lead for good when Brady connected with Amendola in the back of the end zone on a four-yard touchdown pass.

Honorable mention No. 2: Super Bowl LII

Brady threw for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots put 33 points on the board.

But he made two crucial errors. His first came when he dropped a pass on a third-down that would’ve given the Patriots a first down. The second was when he was strip sacked by Philadelphia’s Brandon Graham, and the ball was recovered by Derek Barnett with just over two minutes left.

Brady did get one last chance to tie the game, but his Hail Mary pass fell incomplete on the final play, and the Eagles prevailed, 41-33.

9. 2007 record-breaking regular season

Brady and Randy Moss were a force in 2007. Brady threw for six touchdowns in one game against the Dolphins, outdueled Peyton Manning and the Colts in a November battle of undefeated teams, and threw four touchdown passes in one half to Randy Moss against the Bills.

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That set the stage for one of the most compelling regular-season games ever in Week 17 against the Giants. Brady and Moss needed to connect for two touchdowns to break the regular-season records for the most passing and receiving touchdowns, respectively.

The Giants made them earn it, though. Trailing for much of the game, Brady found Moss for a touchdown for the second time of the evening on a 65-yard pass to give the Patriots a 31-28 lead. The Patriots held on, 38-35, to complete a 16-0 regular season.

Honorable mention No. 4: Brady had a stellar game in the divisional round against the Jaguars, throwing more touchdowns (3) than incompletions (2) in a 31-20 win.

8. 2014 AFC Divisional Round

Following a 2-2 start, the Patriots went 10-2 the rest of the way to earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

Against the Ravens, they twice overcame 14-point deficits. Trailing 28-14, the Patriots scored touchdowns on three of their next four drives, with Brady throwing for two of them. The last one came when Brady hit Brandon LaFell in stride along the sideline right before the safety help came for a 23-yard touchdown.

The Patriots held on to win, 35-31, and the Patriots when on to win Super Bowl XLIX.

7. Super Bowl LV

Going up against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Brady’s Buccaneers played their best game of the season in a 31-9 rout. Brady looked like his vintage self, throwing three touchdowns (two to Gronkowski) en route to winning Super Bowl MVP for the fifth time. The win gave him his seventh Super Bowl, more than any franchise has won.

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Honorable mention No. 5: The 2021 regular season. Brady’s final season was spectacular. At 44, he led the league in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43), making him one of the leading candidates for MVP.

6. The Tuck Rule Game

Brady’s late-game heroics began on a snowy night in Foxborough in January 2002. In the AFC Divisional Round, Brady and the Patriots failed to muster much offensively against the Raiders, trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter.

Brady led the Patriots on a 10-play drive midway through the fourth, which ended with him running in for a six-yard touchdown to cut the lead to three.

The Patriots got the ball one last time in regulation but appeared to turn the ball over on a Brady fumble. But the call was overturned thanks to the Tuck Rule. On the next play, Brady connected with David Patten for a 13-yard pass that got the Patriots into field goal range for Adam Vinatieri to tie it.

In overtime, Brady completed a key fourth-down pass before driving the ball to the Raiders’ 5-yard line to set Vinatieri up for the game-winning kick.

5. Super Bowl XXXVIII

A back and forth affair had the Patriots leading 14-10 at the half

After a scoreless third quarter, Brady connected for a 33-yard pass to Daniel Graham to set the Patriots up to take a 21-10 lead.

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Following a Panthers touchdown, Brady threw a pick in the red zone and the Panthers scored three plays later to go up 22-21.

Brady answered with a 68-yard touchdown drive, connecting with Mike Vrabel in the end zone to put the Patriots up 29-22.

The Panthers evened the score, but Brady responded by finding Branch for a 17-yard reception on third down to put Vinatieri in field goal range for the game-winning kick.

Brady finished the game with 354 passing yards and three touchdowns.

4. 2018 AFC Championship Game

New England controlled the first half at Kansas City, taking a 14-0 lead into the break. But Mahomes woke up and had the Chiefs leading, 21-17, early in the fourth quarter.

Brady led the Patriots to a touchdown on their next two drives — completing a big 25-yard pass to Gronkowski on a third down to set up the second touchdown. But Mahomes was able to force overtime.

Luckily for the Patriots, they won the coin toss and got the ball first. It didn’t look too easy of a drive to start, facing 3rd-and-10 three times on the drive. But Brady was able to convert on all three, throwing completions to Julian Edelman for two of them and one to Gronkowski.

Rex Burkhead was able to run it from there, rushing for a 2-yard touchdown to give Brady his “Still Here” moment.

3. Super Bowl XLIX

In 2014 the Patriots had their third chance to win their fourth Super Bowl. Brady faced a tough opponent that night, going up against the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defense.

Brady performed well in the first half, throwing two touchdown passes as the game was tied, 14-14, going into the break.

Things began to unravel a bit in the third quarter. Brady threw his second interception of the game, setting the Seahawks up for a touchdown to go up 24-14. Going three-and-out on the next two drives didn’t help, either.

Facing another possible three-and-out, Brady connected with Edelman for a 21-yard reception on 3rd-and-14. The drive ended when found Amendola in the end zone to cut the Seahawks’ lead to 24-21.

On the next drive, Brady completed all eight passes for 65 yards, finding Edelman in the end zone to give the Patriots a 28-24 lead.

Brady did need some help defensively to win his fourth Super Bowl, with Malcolm Butler intercepting Russell Wilson at the 1-yard line.

2. Super Bowl XXXVI

The Patriots weren’t given much of a chance against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, with oddsmakers making the team 14-point underdogs.

But they led by 14, with Brady’s touchdown pass to David Patten at the end of the first half being one of the reasons why the Patriots led 17-3 in the third quarter.

But the Rams rallied and tied the game up with 1:30 left.

Brady responded by completing 5-of-7 passes for 53 yards before spiking the ball to get Vinatieri on for the game-winning kick. Vinatieri sank the 48-yard field goal, giving the Patriots their first title.

1. Super Bowl XLIX

After missing the first four games of the season due to his suspension from Deflategate, Brady was able to get the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the seventh time of his career.

The Falcons took a 28-3 lead, with one of their four touchdowns coming from a pick-six off Brady.

A five-yard touchdown pass from Brady to James White at the end of the third to cut it to 28-9. The next Patriots drive resulted in a field goal to make it a two-score game.

After Dont’a Hightower’s strip-sack of Matt Ryan, Brady completed all four of his passes on the next drive, with the last one going to Amendola for a touchdown. A two-point conversion cut the Falcons’ lead to eight.

Brady and the Patriots got one chance to tie the game up. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from their own 9-yard line, Brady completed a 16-yard pass to Chris Hogan for a first down. Three plays later, Edelman caught a pass in traffic that was inches from hitting the turf for a 23-yard gain.

Marching to the Falcons’ 1-yard line, White rushed in for the score. A screen pass to Amendola on the two-point conversion tied the game.

After the Patriots got the ball to start overtime, Brady completed his first six passes, setting the Patriots up at the Falcons 2-yard line where White ran for the Super Bowl-winning score.

The 25-point comeback is the biggest in Super Bowl history.

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