Tom Brady could break an NFL record this year that once seemed unfathomable for him to break

Tom Brady has broken a lot of records in his NFL career, and he could be adding another one by the time the 2022 season ends. This record might be his most impressive yet, and that’s because it didn’t seem like he had a chance to break it as recently as two years ago.

So what’s the record?

By the end of the 2022 season, Brady could set the record for most playoff wins by a starting quarterback against NFC teams. Brady has only been playing in the NFC for two full seasons, and somehow, he’s on the cusp of breaking the record. The NFC has produced multiple Hall of Fame quarterbacks over the years who played all or most of their careers in the NFC. From Brett Favre to Joe Montana to Troy Aikman, there have been some big names, but Brady could top them all. 

The current record for most playoff wins against NFC teams belongs to Favre, who recorded 12 such victories during his 20-year career. Favre picked up 11 of those wins with the Packers and then tacked on one more in 2009 while he was with the Vikings. 

If the Buccaneers reach the Super Bowl during the upcoming season, Brady could end up topping that number, and the crazy part is that he could do it while having played just three full seasons in the NFC.

Over the course of his career, Brady has 10 postseason wins against NFC teams. Of course, six of those came in the Super Bowl while he was playing for the Patriots. After signing with the Buccaneers in 2020, Brady immediately added three more playoff wins against NFC teams during Tampa Bay’s run to Super Bowl LV. In 2021, Brady tacked on one more playoff win before losing to the Rams in the divisional round.

That gave him six wins with the Patriots and four with the Buccaneers. 

Now that he has 10, Favre’s record is in reach. If the Buccaneers once again reach the Super Bowl in 2022 with a run that starts in the wild-card round, then Brady would tack on three more wins against NFC teams. That would give him 13 for his career, which would break Favre’s record. 

Here’s a look at the quarterbacks who have the most playoffs wins against NFC teams: 

Brett Favre: 12

Joe Montana: 10

Aaron Rodgers: 10

Tom Brady: 10

If the Packers play the Buccaneers in the NFC title game, we could get a situation where the winning quarterback becomes the record-holder. (This could only happen if the Packers and Buccaneers both start their playoff runs in the wild-card round.)

As for Brady, he has 35 overall playoffs wins in his career. Not only is that the NFL record, but it’s also more than double the next quarterback on the list. (Joe Montana has 16 total wins when you count his victories over both AFC and NFC teams.)