Surprising Quarterbacks Who Were Somehow Able To Beat Tom Brady
From 2001 until 2020, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were the NFL's version of the dynamic duo. They found almost every opponent's weakness and attacked with Brady under center after taking over for Drew Bledsoe.
Everyone knows how much of a dynasty New England has become since, but the Patriots have had some pretty interesting losses. Some of those losses came from quarterbacks that had slim chances of defeating one of the greatest of all-time.
Kyle Orton
Orton managed to beat the New England Patriots for two different teams. The first victory came in 2009, when Josh McDaniels took over for the Broncos and upset his former mentor Bill Belichick in a 20-17 overtime win.
The second win came in 2014 in Week 17. Orton's Bills defeated a playoff-bound Patriots team in a 17-9 snooze fest. Following the win, Orton would announce his retirement shortly after the conclusion of the season.
Jake Plummer
Playing in Denver is never an easy challenge, especially for Brady. It was so bad one time early in his career. In the 2005 AFC Divisional game, Jake Plummer gave Brady his first postseason defeat after winning his first three Super Bowls.
"Jake the Snake" managed to beat Brady three times throughout the course of his career. It's pretty amazing for someone who only played in six postseason games in ten seasons.
Chad Henne
The 2009 season was one to forget for the Patriots. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round at Gillette Stadium. In addition, they lost one of their regular season games to Chad Henne and the Miami Dolphins.
The win came in a very close bout as the Dolphins would squeak out a 22-21 victory in a Week 13 matchup. This would be the first and only time that the Michigan alum would defeat the four-time Super Bowl MVP in a game.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick was a quarterback Brady had to deal with for six seasons in the AFC East. Despite not being an elite quarterback, the journeyman actually beat the five-time Super Bowl champion three times throughout his career.
What's even more impressive is that "Fitzmagic" managed to beat Brady while playing for the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. Unlike Brady, the Harvard alum became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 400 yards or more in three consecutive games.
Jake Delhomme
After Brady suffered his first postseason loss in 2005, another quarterback wanted redemption. After losing in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers were sure to give the Patriots the business.
Despite Delhomme not throwing a touchdown pass in the Week 2 2005 matchup, his running backs and defense carried the team to a victory against New England. This was a game of revenge after the Patriots bested the Panthers in 2004.
Joey Harrington
During the 2006 season, the Patriots were shut down by Harrington and Dolphins in a 21-0 shutout. Harrington was at the near end of his career after he spent of the majority of it playing for the Detroit Lions.
The former third overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft managed to start in 11 games in the 2006 season, but only won five of them. But, at least one of those victories came against the sixth-round draft pick.
Trent Green
The 2005 season was one to forget for Brady. Not only did the Patriots suffer six losses that season, but one of them came against Trent Green. While playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, Green would throw one touchdown in a Week 12 matchup in a 26-16 victory.
Before the Indiana alum came to Kansas, he was the backup quarterback to Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams. That Rams team would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIV.
Brian Griese
The son of Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese has beaten Brady more than once. Griese got two career wins against the 14-time Pro Bowler. The first victory came in a Week 7 loss at Denver, which was Brady's fifth career start, and Griese threw for two touchdowns.
The second one came in a Week 8 loss in the 2002 season as Griese took down New England at home 24-16. The Michigan alum would go on to appear in one Pro Bowl.
Jay Fielder
Every quarterback will remember the game that they suffered their first career loss. Staring across the field from Brady was Jay Fielder, who handed the future Hall of Famer his first career loss a week after Brady made his first career start.
However, Fielder would earn another win in 2002, which would be the second and last time the quarterback would defeat Brady. The Dartmouth alum would be inducted into the National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame.
Colt McCoy
Yes, Brady suffered a loss to the Cleveland Browns. in 2010, Colt McCoy was a big deal coming out of Texas. New England went into Cleveland expecting to take another road win.
However, that wouldn't happen as the Browns cruised to a 34-14 win as McCoy had one touchdown run as well as a touchdown pass. After a brief stint in San Francisco, the Texas alum has been the backup quarterback for the Washington Redskins since 2014.
A.J. Feeley
2004 was the year sports fans witness the Boston Red Sox break their 86-year championship drought and the Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years. In that same year, the Patriots suffered two losses, with one of them coming from Feeley and the Dolphins.
In Week 15, the quarterback gave Miami a 29-28 victory after throwing a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Not bad for Feeley, who only played in Miami for one season.
Chad Pennington
The name will ring a bell to Dolphins and Patriots fans. Pennington was a quarterback who played in Miami and New York. Pennington found numerous ways to beat the Patriots while putting up impressive numbers during each battle on the gridiron.
The Marshall alum managed to beat Brady and company as a Dolphin and as a Jet too. Pennington beat Brady in a Week 16 victory in 2002 as a member of the Jets and the other time in a Week 10 win in 2006.
Gus Frerotte
Yeah, the 2005 season is mentioned once again. Frerotte was the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins during the 2005 season and found himself on the right side of a victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots.
It didn't mean much to New England as the loss came in a meaningless Week 17 matchup. The Tulsa alum was known for replacing draft bust Heath Shuler for the Washington Redskins. Also, he tied for the longest touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears in 2008.
Matt Schaub
In recent years, the Patriots have manhandled the Texans quite a lot. But, one night in 2009, the Texans came out on top. Quarterback Matt Schaub led the charge for Houston, and they escaped with a 34-27 victory against New England.
Schaub threw for two touchdown passes that game and beat Tom Brady before the Patriots made an early playoff exit. Schaub was Houston's saving grace before DeShaun Watson came to town. The Pittsburgh native also played for Atlanta, Oakland, and Baltimore.
Ryan Tannehill
What's with all of these Dolphins quarterbacks? For Ryan Tannehill, he's somehow managed to beat the "Greatest of All Time" not once, but three times.
Despite Tannehill's mediocracy since 2012, it's incredible he's managed to beat Brady more than once. Although doesn't look like Tannehill will be able to lead the Dolphins back to their glory days, at least he has something to brag about. As for Brady, he's got five rings.
Brock Osweiler
When the Broncos had a huge home game in 2015, they went with their backup over Peyton Manning. Osweiler was playing consistently in Manning's absence and led Denver to a 30-24 overtime victory.
This was a pivotal victory as it ended New England's undefeated season quest. Osweiler was supposed to be the one to take over the starting quarterback role once Manning retired. However, he instead went on to play in Houston and Cleveland before returning to Denver again.
Patrick Ramsey
The 2003 Patriots only suffered two losses in the regular season. Their first loss came at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, while the other defeat was a 20-17 Week 4 loss to the Washington Redskins.
Ramsey didn't throw a touchdown pass in that game, which makes the victory a surprising one at that. The late first-round draft pick of the 2002 NFL Draft wasn't a big factor in his career, which is probably why he played for nine different teams.
Jay Cutler
Cutler came out of retirement in 2017 after Tannehill suffered a season-ending injury. Despite the disinterest in playing football, the Dolphins rose to the occasion in a late-season game on Monday Night Football.
The defense was on its game, shutting down Brady and the Patriots en route to a 27-20 victory. Despite playing in the NFC for most of his career, at least Cutler was able to get a win against New England before calling it a career.
Sam Bradford
During the 2015 season, after their first loss to the Broncos, the Patriots came home to the Philadelphia Eagles and Sam Bradford. Surprisingly, the former Ram would throw two touchdown passes which would help the Eagles earn the shocking victory in Foxboro.
Bradford has had an underwhelming career after winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2010. He never found his true footing as a starting quarterback, which led to his release from the Arizona Cardinals in 2018.
Mark Sanchez
Patriots fans will always remember Sanchez's embarrassing butt-fumble. But, it's insane to think that the quarterback has defeated New England on three different occasions in his career. One of them came in the 2010 AFC Divisional round at Foxboro.
The New York Jets overthrew the Patriots as Sanchez led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship Games. Despite not winning either game, it's nice to remember a time when the Patriots weren't as dominant as they are now.
