CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – For 22 years Tom Brady owned and terrorized the NFL, including the Cleveland Browns.
Brady, who ended the suspense by announcing his retirement Tuesday morning, faced the Browns eight times in his career.
He won seven of those games or the equivalent of his Lombardi trophy collection.
The Browns were never good enough to get to the playoffs to challenge Brady there, but odds are they would’ve suffered the same fate as the rest of the league in the postseason.
Brady faced and beat a total of nine different Browns quarterbacks – two games required relief from the backup – and he never had the honor of squaring off twice against the same starter from Cleveland.
Brady beat Tim Couch in 2001, the combo of Couch and Kelly Holcomb in 2003, Luke McCown in 2004, Derek Anderson in 2007, Jason Campbell in 2013, Cody Kessler and Charlie Whitehurst in 2016 and in 2019 Baker Mayfield.
The only Browns QB to best Brady – Colt McCoy in a 34-14 shellacking of the Patriots in 2010 at then named Cleveland Browns Stadium that saw McCoy rush for a touchdown, but he did not throw for one in the victory. Peyton Hillis carried the load rushing 29 times for 184 yards and a pair of scores. Chansi Stuckey – remember him? He also rushed for a TD.
All eyes were on Cleveland in Week 5 of the 2016 season because Brady made his season debut after serving a four-game suspension following the ‘Deflategate’ scandal. He spared nobody, took no prisoners and was merciless against the hapless and eventually to be 1-15 Browns, a 33-13 victory that saw him throw for 406 yards and three touchdowns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The most soul crushing loss for the Browns at the hands of Brady came in Week 13 of the 2013 season. Jason Campbell threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Cameron with 2:39 left on the clock to give Cleveland a 26-14 lead. Brady, who threw for 418 yards, drove the Patriots 11 plays and 95 yards in 1:38 capped by a 2-yard TD to Julian Edelman to make it 26-21. New England recovered the onside kick, got the ball moved to the 1 thanks to a defensive pass interference penalty and Danny Amendola caught Brady’s second touchdown in less than a minute. Final: Patriots 27, Browns 26.
The biggest yawner – 2003, Week 8 – a 9-3 Patriots win at New England.
Baker Mayfield got a shot at Brady in 2019. It did not go well. Brady threw for 259 yards and a pair of scores to best Mayfield’s 20 of 31 for 194 yards with a touchdown and interception effort. The 27-13 final was also Bill Belichick’s 300th coaching victory. Salt, meet wound.
Brady’s final numbers against the Browns: a 7-1 record. His average margin of victory was 13.4 points. He completed 61.5% of his passes for 1,982 yards with 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Brady’s career resume in unmatched – 15-time Pro Bowl selection, 7-time Super Bowl champion, 5-time Super Bowl MVP, 3-time NFL MVP and first team All-Pro and he retires at the NFL’s all-time passing yards, passing touchdowns and career wins leader.
Canton comes calling in 2027.
