Tom Brady

New England Patriots: Reviewing Tom Brady career history vs. Browns

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Tom Brady (12) holds a 5-1 record vs. the Browns. Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Week 5 marks the seventh time in which New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will face the Cleveland Browns.

To celebrate having Tom Brady back in the fold as the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback, let’s take a look at Brady’s career history against the Browns.

First off, Brady holds a 5-1 record against Bill Belichick’s former team. In that action, Brady has completed 59.42% of his passes for 1,541 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, good for a quarterback rating of 87.4.

Now, let’s review each of Brady’s encounters with the orange-helmeted cellar-dwellers of the AFC North:

December 9th, 2001: Patriots 27, Browns 16

In Brady’s first season as the starter, the Patriots ran past the Browns as one of the stops on their Super Bowl XXXVI journey. This was Brady’s worst game against the Browns, however; he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns on 19 of 28 passing for 218 yards. His 61.3 quarterback rating on the afternoon was the lowest out of these six encounters with Cleveland.

Antowain Smith kept the ship afloat by rushing for 76 yards and two touchdowns, and Brady’s secondary bailed him out by picking off Tim Couch (remember him?) three times.

Tom Brady (12) – New England Patriots – Credit: Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

October 26th, 2003: Patriots 9, Browns 3

This was one of the quirkiest games of the Bill Belichick era. The Patriots slipped by the Browns in a wet, muddy affair thanks to three Adam Vinatieri field goals and maintained a winning streak that would extend into the 2004 season.

Brady completed 20 of 33 passes for 259 yards with no touchdowns and no picks. Kevin Faulk did the job on offense, rushing for 96 yards, and Ty Law picked off Kelly Holcomb to help the Patriots win the turnover battle and field position game.

This game saw the Browns wearing those awesome orange pants that they decided to ditch in favor of brown pants in subsequent years. Of course, now the Browns have revamped their entire look, so we will likely see them wearing brown-on-white this week.

Tom Brady (12) – New England Patriots – Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

December 5th, 2004: Patriots 42, Browns 15

A year after narrowly defeating the Browns without scoring a touchdown, Brady and the Patriots put a hurting on the AFC punching bag in the first week of December 2004.

The Patriots needed just 11 Brady completions to speed past the Browns, as Bethel Johnson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and Randall Gay scooped up a fumble and returned it for a score.

Brady got an assist from his running game in this one, as Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk combined for 187 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. In total, Brady threw for just 157 yards, a touchdown to David Patten and interception to Lewis Sanders.

You may remember this game because of Troy Brown’s interception, one of three he made in the 2004 season. Man, this was a fun year…

Tom Brady (12) – New England Patriots – Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

October 7th, 2007: Patriots 34, Browns 17

After a three-year break from playing Cleveland, the Patriots picked up right where they left off in 2004 by doubling up the Browns. This was by far Brady’s best game against the Browns, as he tossed for 265 yards, three touchdowns and no picks on 22 of 38 passing.

In addition to another Randall Gay scoop-and-score, the Patriots were fueled by a pair of Ben Watson touchdown catches. Brady also hit Donte Stallworth for six points.

Junior Seau came up big for the Pats in this game, snagging a pair of interceptions; Asante Samuel also posted an interception, one of 10 for him that season.

This marked the fifth of eight straight double-digit win differentials for the Patriots at the beginning of the 2007 season. Absolutely no one could slow them down in the first half of that year, and no one could stop them until… well, you know.

Tom Brady (12) – New England Patriots – Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

November 7th, 2010: Browns 34, Patriots 14

For the first time in his career, Brady lost to the Browns in November of 2010. The Browns managed to get under the Patriots’ collective skin in this game; it was one of only two regular season losses for the Patriots in 2010.

It was no direct fault of Brady’s that the Patriots fell on their face in this game, as he tossed for 224 yards, two touchdowns to a former NFL tight end and current jail cell occupant, good for a passer rating of 90.5.

However, fumbles by Rob Gronkowski and Sammy Morris were costly. So was Peyton Hills’ stat line of 184 yards and two touchdowns, a performance which strengthened his Madden cover candidacy that would eventually doom his career.

This was the first of two tough games against the Browns in the 2010s…

Tom Brady (12) – New England Patriots – Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

December 8th, 2013: Patriots 27, Browns 26

This was one of the most miraculous finishes to a Patriots game in the Belichick/Brady era. As you may remember, the Patriots scored two touchdowns in 30 seconds within the last minute of the game to pull this one out of the hat.

On the day, Brady completed 32 of 52 passes for 418 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, a stat line which produced his second-best quarterback rating (91.7) against the Browns out of these six games.

The Patriots’ defense didn’t have an answer for Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron, who combined for 16 receptions, 272 yards and a pair of touchdown catches. However, Shane Vereen answered the call by catching 12 of 17 targets for 153 receiving yards, and last-minute (literally) touchdown receptions by Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola saved the day.

There you have it. Brady holds a 5-1 record against the Browns, with that loss and the narrowest win being the most recent of encounters with this perennial underachiever.