The New England Patriots handed all the keys to quarterback Tom Brady Saturday evening, as they should have. It paid off in a 27-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, as New England advanced to the AFC Championship for the fifth straight season.
Brady amassed 302 yards and a pair of scores through the air, in addition to a 1-yard touchdown on the ground. According to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss, the second-level stats were even more impressive.
Writes Reiss:
"New England dropped back to pass on 77 percent of its plays, including its first 14 plays of the game. Although Tom Brady's raw passing statistics (28-of-42, 7.2 yards per attempt, two touchdowns) might not blow anyone away, his total QBR tells a different story.
Brady posted an 86.4 QBR against the Chiefs. That's the highest by any player so far this postseason. To put that in perspective, a player with a QBR of 85 or higher in a season is considered to be playing at an All-Pro level.
Taking it a step further and accounting for Brady's efficiency and usage (46 action plays), he added significantly more value to his team, when compared to the baseline of an average quarterback, than any other quarterback has in a playoff game this season."
