Tom Brady joins Drew Brees as the only QB's in the 8,000-yard club

If Tom Brady were to retire today, his legacy would be well-entrenched as arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. With his seven championships and numerous NFL records, Brady is considered a living legend.

During Sunday's matchup between his Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams, Brady reached another legendary milestone, joining Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks in the NFL that has thrown for at least 8,000 yards in the NFL.

Tom Brady continues to impress

The thing that makes this record so impressive is that the third quarterback on the NFL's all-time passing list is Peyton Manning and he is far behind with 71,940 yards passing. During his time in the NFL, Manning was also a fixture in the NFL record books.

The fact that he is over 8,300 yards away from Brady for all-time passing yards is somewhat astonishing.

Much of this concerns itself with how well Brady has maintained his health. Of course, the best ability is availability, and Brady has made it a point to take care of his body with the appropriate exercise, training, and eating regimen.

Going into Sunday's game against the Rams, Brady's all-time passing yards sat at 79,859 yards. Once the game ended, Brady threw for 432 yards, placing him at 80,291 yards and the newest member of the exclusive 8,000-yard club.

With Drew Brees holding the all-time passing record at 80,358, Brady only needs 67 yards to be the NFL's all-time record holder for that category.

A Beautiful Mystery

One of life's great mysteries is how things often come full circle in life. For 20 seasons, Brady and Bill Belichick terrorized opponents to the tune of six Super Bowl championships. How fitting is it that Brady has the chance to become the NFL's all-time passing yards leader in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against Belichick and those same New England Patriots that he cut his teeth with.

On Monday, Bill Belichick was a guest on WEEI radio when he was asked about Brady's departure from the Patriots for greener pastures in Tampa. Here is what he had to say:

"There were a lot of things there that...he looked at his options and made his decision. We weren't as good an option as Tampa, so I mean, you'd have to ask him about all of that."

During that same interview, Belichick divulged that he and the Patriots never wanted Brady to leave.

No matter who you choose to believe, all this adds up to one heck of a matchup between the pupil and the master on Sunday Night Football.

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