2015 New England Patriots Midseason Review: Tom Brady is on Fire

Tom Brady is a pretty good quarterback, more probable than not the best to ever play the game. And judging by the first half of the 2015 season, there are no signs of him slowing down, even at age 38. Not only did Brady lead the Patriots to an unblemished 8-0 record and his offense to the most points in the league, his personal stats are also on MVP-worthy levels.

Let's take a look at them.

Tom Brady's 2015 Stats

Comparing Brady's 2015 Stats to Other Years

Completions: Brady's 225 completions through the first eight games are the most he has ever had in the first half of a season. The only other years he has had more than 200 completions at this point of a season were 2002 (207), 2009 (204), 2011 (212) and 2012 (209).

Attempts: Just like completions, Brady's 325 attempts are a career high after eight games. Five other times did he throw 300+ passes: 2002 (315), 2009 (310), 2011 (321), 2012 (320) and 2013 (307).

Completion Percentage: Only in 2007, when a staggering 74.2 percent of his throws were caught from weeks 1 through 8, did Brady complete a higher percentage of passes than in 2015.

Yards: 2015 barely edges out 2011 as the year with the most passing yards. In 2011, Brady had 2,703 yards at this point of the season. He would eventually finish the year with a career high 5,253 yards - the third highest output ever.

Touchdowns: Only Brady's 2007 campaign produced more touchdown passes through eight games. That year he had 30 through eight games and would eventually finish with a then NFL-record 50. 2011 (20 TDs) was the only other time, the quarterback's touchdown passes number was in the 20s.

Interceptions: Two other times in his career did Brady have only two interceptions at this point of a season: in 2007 and 2014.

Yards per Attempt: The Patriots use a quick, high-percentage passing game - but that doesn't mean that Brady only dinks and dunks his way down the field as his yards per attempt show. 2015's 8.26 is the third hightest number of Brady's Hall of Fame career, trailing only 2007 (9.10) and 2011 (8.42).

Passer Rating: Brady's 113.5 trails only his 2007 season, when he had a passer rating of 136.2 (!). Only three other times has he eclipsed 100 through eight games: 2011 (100.0), 2012 (100.6) and 2014 (104.7).

Comparing Brady's 2015 Stats to Other Players

Note: some players - Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan among them - have already played nine games. Their ninth game will not be part of this comparison.

Completions: Two other quarterbacks have completed more passes through eight games than Tom Brady's 225 this year: Philip Rivers (243) and Drew Brees (238).

Attempts: The same two players who have completed more passes than Brady (328) are also the ones to have thrown more passes than him. Rivers threw 348 times, Brees attempted 342 passes.

Completion Percentage: Brady - and his 68.6 completion percentage - comes in fifth. Tyrod Taylor (71.8), who has missed two games due to injury, leads the league in this category, followed by Rivers (69.8), Brees (69.6) and Russel Wilson (68.8).

Yards: Only two passers have thrown for more yards than Brady - and both are on pace to break the single season yardage record. Rivers has thrown for 2,753 yards, while Brees leads the league through eight games played with 2,763 yards.

Touchdowns: Through eight games, Tom Brady leads the league in passing touchdowns with 22. Carson Palmer (20), Derek Carr (19) and Aaron Rodgers (19) come closest.

Interceptions: No player to attempt 100+ passes has thrown less interceptions than Brady's two. The next closest are Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, who have both thrown three interceptions through their first eight games (Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer also has three interceptions but in two less games).

Yards per Attempt: Four players have a higher number than Brady, who gains 8.3 yards per pass attempt so far this year. Carson Palmer (9.2), Andy Dalton (8.6), Tyrod Taylor (8.6) and Ben Roethlisberger (8.5) are ahead of the Patriots quarterback in this category.

Passer Rating: Brady (113.5) leads the league in passer rating and is one of three players to post a number higher than 110. Andy Dalton (111.0) and Carson Palmer (110.2) are the other two.

Other Interesting Tom Brady Stats

Probably never before has Brady been as mobile as he is now. While he is near flawless when it comes to moving around in the pocket, his rushing stats (excluding kneel downs) don't reflect his mobility. He has only rushed for the eighth highest output of his career: 27 yards. For comparison, his career best through eight games is 51 yards, achieved in 2006.

While his rushing yardage numbers have been better, Brady's touchdown numbers have not. This season, he has scored two times, tying a career best set in 2007 and also reached in 2012.

So far this year, Brady has been sacked 18 times, which is tied with 2003 and 2011 for the third highest number of his career. Only in 2013 (25) and 2001 (22) has Brady been sacked more often through his first eight starts of the season. For comparison, he was only sacked nine times in eight games in 2007.