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Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady keep reaching unfathomable heights

By Kevin Parvizi

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New England Patriots legend Tom Brady and Green Bay Packers reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers both came into Sunday knowing that they would be tested by two elite pass defenses, and yet both of them emerged from their battles with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, respectively, with monstrous statistical performances. We’ve come to expect greatness that transcends superlatives from both of these quarterbacks, but it just seems like both players are reaching unfathomable- and unfair- heights with each passing week.

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Let’s take a look at Brady first. All we heard about entering this Week 2 rivalry game was how Rex Ryan can have Brady’s number, and the Bills were coming fresh off of completely dismantling an ostensibly more explosive Indianapolis Colts offense. The Colts couldn’t run the football on the Bills despite having veteran back Frank Gore, and a high-volume attack led by Luck didn’t yield results either.

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So what did the Patriots do? Oh, you know, they just dialed up 59 passes, and Brady finished the game averaging 7.9 yards per attempt with 466 passing yards in total. Perhaps more remarkably, he emerged from a game against the Bills without throwing a single interception, which is pretty freaking incredible. I mean, Luck threw two, and he had 49 attempts with an average of 5.0 yards per attempt.

Just when you think there’s a team that can come along and stop Brady at his best, you realize just how brilliant he is. And it’s only that one time out of 16 games in a season in which he struggles when we realize just how much we take his high standard of play for granted.

And then there’s Rodgers. Honestly, what he did to the Seahawks was even more impressive, because Brady had Julian Edelman (19 targets) and Rob Gronkowski (13) at his disposal. Meanwhile, Rodgers lost Eddie Lacy and Davante Adams, who later returned to the game as a complete non-factor in the shadow of Richard Sherman‘s coverage, mid-game and was basically forced to carve up the ‘Hawks with only Randall Cobb as help.

25-33-249-2-0. That’s how Rodgers’s stat line reads, and it’s crazy to think that this is what he’s capable of against a top defense despite key players leaving the field with injuries. I mean, you’d think Jordy Nelson‘s torn ACL would be enough to take some wind out of Rodgers’s sails, but he just keeps on rolling, showing off the kind of accuracy that can’t even be replicated in a video game.

Maybe the most impressive thing about Rodgers’s performance is the fact that he did it despite playing without anything resembling competent offensive tackle play. With Bryan Bulaga out, Don Barclay seemed to be more interested in giving his quarterback a real challenge, while left tackle Dave Bakhtiari had no answer for Michael Bennett. The stat sheet reads five QB hits, but any quarterback other than Rodgers would have been sacked at the rate Blake Bortles was in 2014. That’s the kind of pressure Rodgers dealt with, and yet he made the Seahawks defense look average.

Rodgers hit up his “new” favorite red zone toy James Jones for an early 29-yard touchdown, and this is just a stupid-good throw. You know how I said Rodgers and Brady have reached “unfathomable heights”? Yeah, well, I can’t comprehend how someone can be good enough to make this throw. He’s moving in the opposite direction and yet he threw it at full velocity in between two Seahawks defenders. And you thought Nick Foles‘s overtime toss to Stedman Bailey was a good throw…I mean, it was, but this is just on an alien level.

Also, check out how he casually slips away from Michael Bennett, taking full advantage of the “free throw” that Bennett decided to gift Rodgers. Do not send those gifts to Aaron Rodgers. Bennett, of all people, should know that, since he’s a chronic offside offender and saw Russell Wilson turn a “free play” into a game-breaking touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2013 season’s NFC Divisional Game.

What makes Tom Brady so great is the fact that he can use any receiver at his disposal to create a mis-match that the opposition simply cannot diagnose. Whether it was hitting up Dion Lewis on a sideline wheel route, tossing dimes to Rob Gronkowski down the seam, or completing a ridiculous 7-of-8 passes for 87 yards to usually inconsistent (I know that’s an oxymoron) Aaron Dobson, Brady used every weapon at his disposal to spread the Bills defense thin.

Ryan is a great defensive mind, but, make no mistake, Brady is a step ahead of the game when it comes to strategizing against defenses. It’s because he knows he has versatile weapons around him, and, unlike a select few quarterbacks, he has the ability to get the absolute most out of them.

Rodgers was the one busy using his feet to extend plays whilst facing plenty of pressure on the outsides, but Brady provided us with the best example of extending a play in the red zone for an important TD early in the game to Edelman.

Although Rodgers didn’t have the luxury of being able to throw it to nine different receivers, spreading the ball around to everyone on the field has been the hallmark of Brady’s career. The man dominated, and it didn’t matter if the Bills blitzed him or not; he was going to hit his receivers, and he was going to utterly own the short and intermediate regions of the field.

These two quarterbacks continue to re-define greatness, and it isn’t just about the “wow” throws; it’s the way they out-smart tough opponents and quickly adjust, making use of every single player around them.

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