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49ers Joe Montana vs. Patriots Tom Brady: Revisiting the GOAT Argument after Super Bowl LI

By Peter Panacy

Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

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:

Passing Table
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:

Passing Table
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).

Advantage: Brady