49ers Joe Montana vs. Patriots Tom Brady: Revisiting the GOAT Argument after Super Bowl LI
By Peter Panacy
Regular-Season Statistics
For starters, Tom Brady certainly gets the edge in longevity. He’s defied Father Time over the course of his career. And it’s impossible to ignore the Patriots’ success without the Brady parallel. He’s just as important, if not more so, than any other factor in New England’s extended run of success.
And he’s had a relatively injury-free career year too. Only one season, 2008, did Brady miss any extended period of time due to injury.
The same can’t be said of Montana, who missed eight games in 1986 and all but one game in 1992 — his final season in San Francisco.
Still, let’s look at the side-by-side stats, including Montana’s days with the Kansas City Chiefs:
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | Sk | 4QC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 192 | 164 | 117-47-0 | 3409 | 5391 | 63.2 | 40551 | 273 | 139 | 7.5 | 11.9 | 211.2 | 92.3 | 313 | 31 | ||
| 13 yrs | SFO | 167 | 139 | 100-39-0 | 2929 | 4600 | 63.7 | 35124 | 244 | 123 | 7.6 | 12.0 | 210.3 | 93.5 | 282 | 26 | |
| 2 yrs | KAN | 25 | 25 | 17-8-0 | 480 | 791 | 60.7 | 5427 | 29 | 16 | 6.9 | 11.3 | 217.1 | 85.0 | 31 | 5 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/5/2017.
And now for Brady’s stats:
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Y/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | Sk | 4QC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | NE | 237 | 235 | 183-52-0 | 5244 | 8224 | 63.8 | 61582 | 456 | 152 | 7.5 | 11.7 | 259.8 | 97.2 | 417 | 37 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/5/2017.
Brady certainly edges Montana in nearly every regular-season stat. And it helps he’s been relatively injury free and has had a longer career.
And the side-by-side numbers, regardless of career length, favor Brady. he has a higher completion percentage (63.8), more yards per game (259.8) and a better overall passer rating (97.2).