It's too bad the Patriots didn't plan a parade for Tom Brady after the team's 38-24 win over the Colts on Thursday, because there was a lot to celebrate following the win.
Not only did Brady hit a major career milestone, but he also broke one of the weirdest NFL records in existence when he hit Josh Gordon with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass that put the Patriots up 31-17.
Tom Brady just threw his 500th TD pass to @JOSH_GORDONXII 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7tlvX4syxu
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 5, 2018
First, the scoring throw to Gordon gave Brady 500 touchdown passes for his career, making him just the third player in NFL history to reach that milestone (Peyton Manning and Brett Favre are the other two).
The other reason the touchdown was a big deal is because Gordon became the 71st player to be on the receiving end of a Brady touchdown pass, which set an NFL record. Brady's throwing score to Gordon broke a tie with Vinny Testaverde, who threw touchdown passes to 70 different players during his 21 seasons in the NFL. Coincidentally, Testaverde actually spent one season with the Patriots (2006) and even threw a touchdown pass that year as Brady's teammate.
After New England's win over Indy, Brady did what Brady always does, he credited everyone who helped him get to where he is today.
"I think all these things like that, milestones and so forth, there are so many people that contribute," Brady said, via the team's official website. "So, I just think of all the people that have really worked hard. You know, a quarterback doesn't throw them to himself. He needs people to catch them and block and defenses make plays and coaches to coach. These are all great team awards. So, pretty cool."
Since Brady set an NFL record that will likely never be broken, we thought we would take the time to list all 71 players who have caught a touchdown pass from Brady. The Patriots quarterback has been playing for so long that Titans coach Mike Vrabel is even on this list. As a matter of fact, Vrabel caught eight scoring passes during his time in New England (2001-08). Although Vrabel was a linebacker, he would regularly sub in as a goal-line back, which led to eight career touchdown catches with New England.
We'll start this list with the players who have caught 15 or more touchdown passes from Brady: Rob Gronkowski (76), Randy Moss (39), Wes Welker (34), Deion Branch (24), Julian Edelman (24), Aaron Hernandez (18), Daniel Graham (17), Benjamin Watson (17), David Patten (16), James White (16), and Troy Brown (15).
Next up, we'll list the guys who have caught between five and 14 touchdown passes. Amazingly, this is where Vrabel shows up on the list: Christian Fauria (13), David Givens (12), Danny Amendola (10), Kevin Faulk (10), Chris Hogan (10), Mike Vrabel (8), Brandin Cooks (7), Brandon LaFell (7), Shane Vereen (7), Martellus Bennett (6), Jabar Gaffney (6), Tim Wright (6) and Dion Lewis (5).
Going into Week 4, Cordarrelle Patterson wasn't even going to be on this list, but the Patriots receiver has now caught a touchdown pass in two straight games, making him one of 27 players who have caught between two and four touchdown passes from Brady. Here's the list of those guys: Reche Caldwell (4), Scott Chandler (4), Aaron Dobson (4), Bethel Johnson (4), Brandon Lloyd (4), Malcolm Mitchell (4), Donte' Stallworth (4), Kenbrell Thompkins (4), Danny Woodhead (4), Rex Burkhead (3), Doug Gabriel (3), Chad Jackson (3), Antowain Smith (3), Jermaine Wiggins (3), Sam Aiken (2), Brandon Bolden (2), Kyle Brady (2), Chris Baker (2), Alge Crumpler (2), Corey Dillon (2), Phillip Dorsett (2), Tim Dwight (2), Marc Edwards (2), Donald Hayes (2), Keshawn Martin (2), Cordarrelle Patterson (2), and Brandon Tate (2).
As for Gordon, he joins some big names like LeGarrette Blount, Chad Johnson and Terry Glenn on the list of players who have caught only one touchdown pass from Brady: Dwayne Allen (1), Tom Ashworth (1), LaGarrette Blount (1), Matt Lengel (1), Michael Floyd (1), Larry Centers (1), Cam Cleeland (1), Andre' Davis (1), Heath Evans (1), Terry Glenn (1), Michael Hoomanawanui (1), Charles Johnson (1), Laurence Maroney (1), Mathew Mulligan (1), Chad Johnson (1), Patrick Pass (1), David Thomas (1), Brian Tyms (1), Dedric Ward (1), and Josh Gordon (1).
Overall, that's 500 total touchdown passes to 71 different receivers.
Finally, if you need a cheat sheet to help you remember the list, you can just use this. Save the tweet in your pocket, then impress your friends this weekend with your insanely extensive knowledge of everyone who has caught a touchdown pass from Brady.
Tom Brady owns yet ANOTHER NFL RECORD, throwing a TD to 71 different players in his career.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 5, 2018
From receivers to tight ends to linemen and linebackers… here’s ALL of them: pic.twitter.com/tyADENSaP2