A report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday confirmed what many believed to be true about Tom Brady this season.
The New England Patriots veteran quarterback was playing hurt for during the second half of the season as he suffered an MCL sprain during Week 11 when he while playing receiver against the Tennessee Titans.
He was on the team’s injury report until Week 15 as all eyes were fixated on a knee brace that continuously looked to cause him discomfort during the final stretch of the season.
While he of all people would not use it as an excuse, it presents a clear reason as to why the future Hall-of-Famer had his worst statistical season since 2014.
His worst was still awfully solid as the 41-year-old completed 65.8-percent of his passes for 4,355 yards with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
There was no denying that the Patriots offense looked out of sorts at times this season as inconsistencies were clearly present, which led to cause for concern heading into the playoffs.
New England’s 11-5 2018 season was their worst since going 10-6 in 2009. That’s just a testament to how successful this dynasty has been over the past 15 years.
It was still good enough to snag the No. 2 seed in the AFC, which provided a much-needed bye week for Brady to get right.
Rapoport added that Brady was back to full health just hours before their 1 p.m. ET kick-off in the AFC Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Chargers.
