The old guys out of the Big Ten are holding up just fine. Tom Brady and Drew Brees might be 39 and 37 years old, but they can still throw it. They haven’t lost any noteworthy amount of arm strength, and they’re still two of the best of all time at find the open guys.
They’ve been particularly good around the end zone. When their teams have been within 10 yards of the goal line, they’ve completed 80 and 78 percent of their passes – best in the league.
| PASSING INSIDE THE 10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | P | Com | Att | Pct | TD |
| Brady, N.E. | 11 | 8 | 10 | 80.0% | 5 |
| Brees, N.O. | 37 | 28 | 36 | 77.8% | 15 |
| Winston, T.B. | 17 | 13 | 17 | 76.5% | 11 |
| Luck, Ind. | 29 | 19 | 26 | 73.1% | 10 |
| Roethlisberger, Pit. | 16 | 11 | 16 | 68.8% | 10 |
| Rodgers, G.B. | 33 | 21 | 32 | 65.6% | 15 |
| Stafford, Det. | 24 | 15 | 23 | 65.2% | 10 |
| Ryan, Atl. | 29 | 18 | 28 | 64.3% | 10 |
| Wentz, Phil. | 12 | 7 | 11 | 63.6% | 5 |
| Mariota, Tenn. | 22 | 13 | 21 | 61.9% | 10 |
| A.Smith, K.C. | 12 | 7 | 12 | 58.3% | 3 |
| Bortles, Jac. | 19 | 11 | 19 | 57.9% | 8 |
| Flacco, Balt. | 14 | 7 | 13 | 53.8% | 4 |
| Rivers, S.D. | 31 | 15 | 28 | 53.6% | 9 |
| Hoyer, Chi. | 11 | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 4 |
| Bradford, Minn. | 11 | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 4 |
| Keenum, L.A. | 16 | 7 | 14 | 50.0% | 4 |
| Carr, Oak. | 30 | 14 | 29 | 48.3% | 12 |
| Palmer, Ariz. | 19 | 9 | 19 | 47.4% | 8 |
| Dalton, Cin. | 14 | 6 | 13 | 46.2% | 4 |
| Osweiler, Hou. | 11 | 5 | 11 | 45.5% | 4 |
| Tannehill, Mia. | 10 | 4 | 9 | 44.4% | 3 |
| Taylor, Buff. | 19 | 7 | 16 | 43.8% | 6 |
| Prescott, Dall. | 21 | 9 | 21 | 42.9% | 6 |
| Manning, NYG | 12 | 4 | 11 | 36.4% | 4 |
| Wilson, Sea. | 11 | 4 | 11 | 36.4% | 3 |
| Siemian, Den. | 23 | 8 | 22 | 36.4% | 5 |
| Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 20 | 6 | 20 | 30.0% | 2 |
| Cousins, Wash. | 23 | 6 | 22 | 27.3% | 4 |
On the above chart, “TD” doesn’t actual mean touchdowns. Instead it includes both touchdowns and 2-point conversions (which are similar, noteworthy plays – not official NFL plays, but we’re throwing them in there anyway).
Among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts, five have completed under 40 percent of their passes. Kirk Cousins, who’s just 6 of 22, is down at the bottom, below even Ryan Fitzpatrick. Trevor Siemian, Russell Wilson and Eli Manning also have mostly struggled.
As for Brady and Brees, they’re playing about as well as they ever have – elsewhere in the field, and definitely around the goal-line.
Inside the 10, Brees is completing 78 percent. That’s higher than any of the last 10 years. And he’s on pace to finish with a career-high 30 TDs in that part of the field. Only once before has he thrown more than 25.
| BREES INSIDE THE 10 (2006-2016) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Play | Com | Att | Pct | EZ | Int | Sk |
| 2006 | 36 | 13 | 34 | 38.2% | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 2007 | 51 | 32 | 51 | 62.7% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 39 | 26 | 39 | 66.7% | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | 40 | 24 | 40 | 60.0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 42 | 23 | 42 | 54.8% | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 48 | 31 | 46 | 67.4% | 26 | 1 | 2 |
| 2012 | 56 | 34 | 54 | 63.0% | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 2013 | 46 | 24 | 42 | 57.1% | 16 | 1 | 4 |
| 2014 | 37 | 25 | 35 | 71.4% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015 | 32 | 18 | 31 | 58.1% | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 37 | 28 | 36 | 77.8% | 15 | 0 | 1 |
Brady also is on pace to finish with a career-high completion percentage in that part of the field. He missed the first four games, of course, but looks like he’s going to pile up a whole lot of yards and touchdowns in his 12 games.
| BRADY INSIDE THE 10 (2006-2016) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Play | Com | Att | Pct | EZ | Int | Sk |
| 2006 | 39 | 21 | 38 | 55.3% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | 63 | 37 | 60 | 61.7% | 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 34 | 17 | 32 | 53.1% | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| 2010 | 50 | 31 | 47 | 66.0% | 21 | 0 | 3 |
| 2011 | 51 | 24 | 49 | 49.0% | 18 | 1 | 2 |
| 2012 | 50 | 26 | 47 | 55.3% | 18 | 1 | 3 |
| 2013 | 44 | 20 | 41 | 48.8% | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| 2014 | 44 | 25 | 42 | 59.5% | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015 | 42 | 23 | 40 | 57.5% | 17 | 2 | 2 |
| 2016 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 80.0% | 5 | 0 | 1 |
—Ian Allan