Half of Tom Brady bests all of Aaron Rodgers

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are many things: great quarterbacks, foes on the field, golfing buddies off it, and surefire future Hall of Famers. Perhaps that is why there is constant comparison between the two. Especially in a season where there were many young comers like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen who could have left them behind, Aaron Rodgers won the league MVP and Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl. So, who is better? We'll have a look at some numbers to break this argument down.

Tom Brady v Aaron Rodgers over the years

Once we come down to data, the numbers seem to overwhelmingly support Tom Brady over Aaron Rodgers. In fact, just the second half of Tom Brady's career is better than the entirety of Aaron Rodgers' time at the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rodgers’ whole playoff career (2008-2020) vs. Tom Brady’s playoff career since he turned 37 years old (2014-2020) pic.twitter.com/fz8JxLNFs9

— Tom Brady Facts (@TB_Facts) September 1, 2021

Since 2009, Aaron Rodgers has made it into 20 playoff games and won 11. He passed for 5669 yards during those games. Among myriad other statistics, he has won a solitary Super Bowl, in which he was the MVP.

Tom Brady, on the other hand, has won 4 Super Super Bowls and been declared the MVP in three of those. He has played 19 playoff games in total, winning a whopping 16 out of them in total. He also passed for over 6000 yards in those games.

Does the Tom Brady v Aaron Rodgers live another day?

Yes, the debate still rumbles on. Tom Brady's career statistics over a short period of time outshine Aaron Rodgers' entire career quite considerably. But what the above data fails to capture is the defenses each quarterback played on.

Scoring defense rank over span:2001-19 Patriots (Tom Brady): 1st2004-20 Steelers (Big Ben): 2nd2008-20 Packers (Aaron Rodgers): 6th2006-19 Chargers (Philip Rivers): 6th2006-20 Saints (Drew Brees): 23rdBrees overcame more than all the rest.

— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) March 15, 2021

Putting the above statistics up captures in a better way what Tom Brady benefited from that others did not. He always had a good defense that could keep him out on the field longer so that he could complete his long drives. The same goes for Ben Roethlisberger, who generally has a higher interception ratio than other top quarterbacks, but can afford to take the risks in a top defense.

Does that mean that we don't know who between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady is better?

It depends entirely on the definition of better. Just offensive post-season numbers put Tom Brady head and shoulders above Aaron Rodgers. And that is just the latter part of his career. But with the defense taken into account, the view changes slightly.

Perhaps the best thing to say is to enjoy them both while they are playing. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Whenever you get caught up in a debate like this, remember: Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl, but Nick Foles did.