Can Tom Brady still be #elite at 40?

It’s been just over a week since the Patriots pulled off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history (maybe the greatest comeback in all of football ... ever). By all accounts, even if you factor in the choke job from the Falcons coaching staff, it was a major accomplishment by every player and coach wearing New England’s uniform. But Tom Brady wants to make it clear that your standards, your average Joe Easy Chair who merely enjoys watching the game, are not good enough for him. He wants to make it clear that it was “not one of his best games ever.”

Shut up.

He didn’t say that it wasn’t a great game. Oh no, he made that clear to Peter King in his MMQB interview with him, but, you know, it just wasn’t up to snuff for a guy who eats kale smoothies to keep his 39-year old body even able to play in these so-called subpar games.

Brady’s game was amazing by any standard, playoffs or regular season, and it really might not be the best one he’s ever played, at least by statistical measures, but what makes it that much more amazing is that he did that at 39 years old, an age when most NFL players, besides the occasional kicker, shouldn’t be playing well enough to even start in the league anymore, much less as the centerpiece for a dynasty.

Brady thinks he can play for at least another five years, and the Patriots are even counting on him being around for at least a few more. The truth is that even the legendary quarterbacks usually end up losing to Father Time. Brady was only the ninth QB to start eight games or more at 39 or older, and the numbers for QBs playing into their 40s are not great.

If there’s one quarterback who might buck that trend, it could be Brady. Hell, he’s already got a head start on it. But even if he puts together a solid end to his career, don’t expect 2007-like numbers. He doesn’t necessarily need to produce like that either. The Patriots made it pretty clear earlier in the season, while Brady was suspended, that they have an approach that’s mindful of life without #elite Tom Brady.

This is also going to take some level of acceptance from Brady himself. Sure, his quote here, sliced up so that it’s just the part about it not being his best game, makes it sound like he’s not ready for that. Read the whole thing.

Like he did when deferring the Super Bowl MVP award to James White, Brady seems to know that he doesn’t have to be the team’s Atlas, shouldering the entire load for 16 games and more. That approach is what will define this last chapter of his football career.