Tom Brady led the charge and nearly matched the entire output of both opponents on his own.
Yes, Brady has been to the Patriots' defense what makeup is to a pimple, what face-lifts and Botox injections have been to Joan Rivers, and what duct tape is to, well, everything.
That being said, Brady's hot start is no flash in the pan. While plastic surgery wears off, Brady cooling off is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Yards are yards, but 940 of them in the first two weeks? That's unprecedented. Brady now holds the record for passing yards in the first two weeks of a season, but that feat only scratches the surface of Brady's masterful accomplishments.
Digging deeper into the stat book confirms that he is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL today — and ever.
Sure, Brady leads the league in attempts with 88 through two games, but why shouldn't he? With a 71.9 completion percentage and 10.7 yards per attempt, passing is paying dividends for the Patriots' offense.
Perhaps the most impressive number of all is 128.0. That's Brady's passer rating through the first two games of the season. Passer rating is often written off as archaic and unclear, but its formula is an excellent indicator for the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and is also a great indicator for winning football teams.
But Brady's dominance isn't isolated to the first two weeks of the season. Going back to the final eight games of the 2010 regular season, his stat sheet reads like a bible for a top-notch quarterback. Brady has crossed the plateau of 10.5 yards per attempt in a game five times in the past 10 regular-season games. To put those numbers in perspective, Dan Marino did it eight times in his entire NFL career.
Brady's gone 221-for-319 (69.3 percent) for 3,014 yards, 29 touchdowns and just one interception in the past 10 regular-season games. His cumulative passer rating in those games is 128.2, and he hasn't had a passer rating below 100.
Not even Peyton Manning can say he's ever accomplished that.
Brady’s video-game stats represent more than a great start to the 2011 season. His play is an amazing trend — consistent with what we saw last season. And with upcoming games against the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders, teams that aren't exactly known for dominant play in the secondary, expect this hot streak to continue.
The string of dominance will conclude at some point, and when that happens, the defense will have to step up. Still, his stretch has been historic and is worthy of high praise.
