Tom Brady vs. George Blanda

Tom Brady is currently the oldest player in the NFL at 45 years of age. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has won all there is to win in the NFL and is still going strong after 22 seasons in the NFL. His 23rd NFL season is slated to be his final one as he eyes the Vince Lombardi trophy for one last time in his career.

When talking about the oldest NFL players, it is impossible to leave out the legendary George Blanda. He played in the NFL for 26 season’s which is the longest in the history of the sport. When Blanda retired at the age of 48, he had already played for several franchises like the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raiders.

The late George Blanda played between 1949 to 1975 and holds the record for the longest career in the NFL. He started his career as a placekicker and a quarterback with the Chicago Bears before moving to the Baltimore Colts in 1950. He however, moved to the Houston Oilers in 1960 and joined the Oakland Raiders in 1967 after the AFL-NFL merger happened. Blanda is most remembered for his time with the Oakland Raiders.

At 45 years of age, Brady is the oldest active player in the NFL. As Brady prepares to play his 23rd season in the NFL he is very close to reaching George Blanda’s record of playing 26 NFL seasons. Let us take a look at the two longest serving quarterbacks in the NFL and how their statistics rate in comparison.

Brady vs. Blanda Regular Season Career Stats

George Blanda and Tom Brady are very different types of players and even belong to different generations of the NFL. In comparison as a quarterback, Tom Brady fares far better than George Blanda. Brady has started 210 more games than George Blanda although he has played 22 games less in his entire regular season career.

As a quarterback Blanda does not match Brady’s skill but not taking anything away from Blanda, he was a top quarterback in his own right too. It is to be noted that Blanda started considerably fewer games than Tom Brady as a quarterback and still holds impressive statistical records for passing.

Tom Brady vs George Blanda- Super Bowl Records

George Blanda started playing football when the AFL and NFL were two different leagues. He started his career with the Chicago Bears in the NFL and reached the Championship Game and then shifted to the AFL to play for the Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raiders subsequently.

Blanda has played a total of 4 Championship Games before the AFL-NFL merger in 1966. He won two AFL Championships with the Houston Oilers. Post the NFL-AFL merger, Blanda played 7 Championship Games and won one more AFL Championship. He has also appeared in Super Bowl II (1968), playing for the Oakland Raiders.

Blanda started as a quarterback in only 3 of the AFL Championship games (1960, 1961, 1962). He was a backup quarterback in 4 Championships (1956, 1967, 1969, 1970). In the rest of his Championship appearances, Blanda appeared as a placekicker.

Tom Brady is an undisputed figure when it comes to Super Bowls. He has played a total of 10 Super Bowls and won 7 of those. There are no other players who have won as many Super Bowls as Brady.

Click here, to get more details about Tom Brady’s Super Bowl wins.

Brady vs. Blanda - Records

When it comes to records Tom Brady has created and broken too many of them. Georg Blanda is no stranger to records either. While Blanda has set records such as being the oldest player to play in the NFL and the player to have scored most points; Brady has set records for winning the most Super Bowls and for winning most games in the NFL, among other records.

Take a look at the records of both the players:-

George Blanda Records

1. Passing touchdowns in a game: 7 (Tied with 7 others) November 19, 1961, vs. New York Titans
2. Most seasons played: 26 (1949–58, 1960–75)
3. Most seasons scoring a point: 26
4. Only one of two players to play in 4 different decades. ( Blanda played in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and John Carney, who played in the 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s)
5. Most PATs made (943) and attempted (959)
6. Most interceptions thrown, single season: 42 (1962)
7. Held record of most pass attempts in a single game: 68 (37 completions, vs. Buffalo Bills on January 11, 1964) until 1994 when Drew Bledsoe had 70
8. Oldest player to play in an NFL game: 48 years, 109 days
9. First player ever to score over 2,000 points
10. Oldest quarterback to start a title game - Broken by Tom Brady
11. Most total points accounted for (including touchdown passes) in a career: 3,418 - Broken by Drew Brees and Tom Brady

Tom Brady Records

1. Most Super Bowl wins by a player and starting quarterback: 7
2. Most games won by any player: 243
3. Only 1 of 4 players to beat all 32 NFL teams
4. Most wins in a regular season by a quarterback: 16 (unbeaten regular season run)
5. Most Super Bowl MVP awards: 5
6. Most number of NFL Playoff wins: 35
7. Most games started by a quarterback: 372
8. Most combined passing yards: 1,00,608
9. Most combined pass completions: 8,705
10. Most combined passing attempts: 13,593
11. Most combined touchdown passes: 731
12. Most game-winning drives: 67
13. Most fourth-quarter comebacks: 51
14. Most NFL championships by player: 7
15. Most championships in pro football history by a quarterback: 7 (tied with Otto Graham)
16. Most times sacked: 615

*Tom Brady’s Records include a combination of regular season and postseason statistics.

Will Tom Brady break George Blanda’s record for being the oldest NFL player to have played?

The late George Blanda currently holds the record for being the oldest player to have played in the NFL. He has played the most seasons in the league and he was 48 years of age when he retired from the NFL in 1976. He was almost 49 when he retired.

At 45 years of age, Tom Brady is close to equalling Blanda’s record for being the oldest player in the NFL. Brady is entering his 23rd season in the NFL. He is already the oldest active player in the NFL. However, it is unlikely that Brady will break George Blanda’s record for being the oldest player to play in the league. Brady had already announced his retirement in the beginning of the 2022 but decided to continue playing for one more season.

Tom Brady is already the oldest player to win the Super Bowl at 43 years of age. Brady also broke George Blanda’s record for being the oldest quarterback to throw a postseason touchdown pass. Blanda was 43 years and 109 days old when he threw the touchdown pass. Brady was 43 years and 159 days old when he broke the record.

Brady vs. Blanda- Who is the better NFL Player?

Tom Brady is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have ever played in the NFL. It is no easy feat to stay at the top of one’s game in the NFL for more than 20 seasons. Brady has gone on to show that age is just a number as he continued to dominate the NFL. Only a handful of players such as George Blanda surpass Brady when it comes to playing time in the NFL.

Brady is a quarterback who specializes as a pocket passer. George Blanda was not just a quarterback throughout his career but also a place kicker. He was a classic quarterback and also a kicker with amazing prowess to score field goals.

When it comes to comparing the two players as quarterbacks, Brady is the winner hands down. However, Blanda continued to make a mark in the NFL as a backup quarterback. Like Brady, he had also retired from the NFL and decided to un-retire. Blanda fulfilled a double role as quarterback and a kicker, which is why he is considered as one of the legends of the game.

Tom Brady vs George Blanda at 43

When Brady broke Blanda’s record for being the oldest quarterback to throw a postseason touchdown pass, NFL fans started comparing both the players at the same age.

It is safe to say that George Blanda looked much older of the two at 43. While Tom Brady follows a rigorous regimen known as the TB12 method, George Blanda was from a different era and followed a diet of Budweiser lights and cigarettes.

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