Tom Brady’s domination of Denver in last season’s playoffs tops Athlon’s list
As 2012 comes to a close, Athlon will count down the top individual performances in each major sport from the year, culminating with a full list of the top 50 performances of the year.
It is important to remember that for the NFL, 2012 started with the end of the 2011 regular season and the playoffs, in addition to the first 15 weeks of the current season. That’s why Tom Brady’s record-tying performance against Denver in last season’s AFC Divisional Round comes in at No. 1 on this list, even though the game was played back in January.
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Two AFC South teams with drastically different 2012 results will clash on Thursday Night Football, when the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts at 8:20 p.m. EST on the NFL Network. The solid play of No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck and the inspiration of coach Chuck Pagano, who is currently battling leukemia, has the 5-3 Colts in contention for a playoff spot.
Against all odds, the Indianapolis Colts proved they were indeed "ChuckStrong" during an unbelievable come-from-behind 30–27 win over the Green Bay Packers.
The book on rookie quarterbacks in the NFL was a pretty simple one. They were always expected to struggle, especially in the opening games of their careers. Great ones like John Elway and Troy Aikman have talked about how unprepared they were for their first start. Boomer Esiason has described seeing “ghosts” on the field – defenders he never saw who just suddenly appear.
