Tom Brady's FIRST Start! (Colts vs. Patriots, 2001) 

You know it’s been a long time ago when you hear the announcer refer to Tom Brady as “the kid”

You got to give props to all those Patriot fans in that stadium because it's 100% safe to say that they aren't bandwagon fans.

Imagine being in a Coma for 20 years and waking up now and Brady's still playing in playoff games in 2021 and coming off a season where he just passed for *40 TD's* 😅

it's incredible to think that none of these players are still playing except for Tom Brady

Crazy that Brady and Peyton played in the same division for one year.

Funny how everyone had written this team off when they were 0-2 and they finished the season with a super bowl win

What makes this even better is that this was the start of Gus Johnson’s legendary broadcasting career

"Peyton Manning is on a roll this season going up against a crippled Patriots!" Tom Brady: *im bout to ruin this manes whole career*

How fitting that his very first start was against Peyton Manning, and they went out to have one of the best QB rivalries EVER for years to follow.

Still have my ticket stub. Crazy to think none of us had a clue of what was to come

Little did the Patriot fans know that this was the start of an insane two decade span of dominance. It's what every fan hopes for when they watch a young quarterback make his first start. Unfortunately, those hopes get crushed more often then not.

“He made all the throws, had strong enough arms to hit that out routes, really feels confident, in fact he is not nervous at all, I am kinda surprised”

What’s crazy is that the only members of the 2001 Patriots who are still playing today are Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri (who now plays for the Colts)!

When the announcer laughs at NE making the playoffs...we know how that ended lol

This was the first game I ever went too and I was bummed Bledsoe wasn’t playing hahaha

I think this kid will be decent. Might win a ring as a backup. He’d be lucky though.

Ty Law was one of Mannings favorite receivers...

That Brady kid looked pretty good in his 1st start. Anyone know how he turned out? He still in the league?

The day I discovered I would regret being a Colts fan for the next 20 years

I was 7 years old when this game was played. I just turned 27 last week and Tom Brady won his 7th Super Bowl. This video just makes you think “wow” earliest football memories to present day Brady has been there the entire time

The thing that makes Brady so good is he has no “deer in headlights” moments. He’s always ready never nervous

Brady vs Manning with Gus Johnson calling....nothing better!

5:54 let's just take a moment to appreciate that Interception return by Otis Smith!!

Tom Brady is so underrated that even the Patriots overlooked him.

You can look up the power rankings from week 2 of 2001 and the narrative from all of them was “Patriots already have the worst roster in the entire NFL and now lost starting QB Bledsoe, good luck patriots fans” funny how quickly the narrative changed the second Tom Brady took over. They went 5-11 in 2000 then 0-2 in 2001 then Brady takes over and goes 11-3 in reg season, 3-0 in playoffs, Super Bowl MVP.

9:12 "What about New England, why are they not in the poll" (of teams going 0-2 and to the playoffs)..... Man if you knew then, what we know now!!!!

Here after Tom Brady announced his official retirement for good this time. I may be from New York but I know a legend when I see one. Wish you nothing but the best in your retirement, you’re going to be a hilarious announcer!

Everything changed forever around this time in history -- 9/11 happened and the world was introduced to Tom Brady.

The first peyton vs brady rivalry. Thank you for an awesome game

What an inauspicious start to what would become THE QB rivalry of the 2000s. Few would've thought it would flourish to be such an amazing rivalry based on this game.

I was a 9 year old when this game aired. At 28 years old he just won another super bowl. CRAZY

"And really feels confident. In fact, wasn't nervous at all. I was kinda surprised." 20 years later...

People born the week this game was played are in college now. Tom Brady is all they've known!

6 Rings, 9 SB Appearances and 3 League MVPs later...

"What about New England, they are 0-2, why aren't they in the poll?" If they only knew XD

Came here for Brady, left with memories brought back to life of a great and unique Pats defense.

Tom Brady didn't really "arrive" until two weeks later against San Diego when he led the team to a a comeback OT win at home. This game was fueled by the Pats' (at the moment) unheralded defense and running game.

Little did the world know that one day, both of these QBs would be in the conversation for best ever

My God this 2000-2007 era Pats defense was insane. Tedy Bruschi, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Otis Smith, Richard Seymour, just to name a few.

Just got word he retired, I may not be a Patriots or Bucs fan but boy he will forever be the goat of the game.

“The kid has made some great plays today” at 13:48. The word “kid” means “young goat”.

9:06 that’s really cool to see the old Foxborough Stadium and Gillette being constructed in the background

20 years later, 7 superbowls. What a legend, love him or hate him.

I was at this game in Foxboro.. A huge Bledsoe fan, I commented to my buddy walking into the stadium, "great, the start of the Tom Brady era", man was I wrong.

I remember this game and the game Drew Bledsoe went down. The game Drew went down was my first time watching football as a college freshman just to kill the time. The Pats look lifeless. There wasn't much enthusiasm from the fans in the stand. The atmosphere was even grimmer the moment Bledsoe got hurt. But then Tom Brady stepped onto the football field. I didn't know what it was. Was it the team trying to encourage the newbie? Was it the fans trying to do the same thing? But I can feel the energy coming from everyone. I can see and feel the enthusiasm as if everyone can feel something great is about to begin. Since then I became Tom Brady's fan first; then I became the Patriots' fan second; then I became a fan of football. That is what Tom Brady brings to the Patriots. He brings hope. He gives us a sense that we are going to win no matter the difficulty. It is always a treat to be his fan because he never gives us that sense of despair. Back then no one was giving the Pats a chance or respect whatsoever.

Tom Brady wasnt quite TOM BRADY yet but the poise was there. Colts played sloppy as hell. Wasn't prepared for that sudden Mark Rypien cameo at the end, I had no idea he was still in the league in 01.

Watching this really makes you think about all those games you watch where some random QB you don't know much about makes their first start. They could be the next great qb that were watching that first game 20+ years later thinking about it.

I love Tom Brady's story and watching this made it even cooler. That point when the announcers are asking themselves which 0-2 team has the best chance of making the playoffs...and then they ask "What about New England?" At that point you knew they didn't think it was realistic. Little did they know, putting Tom Brady in for his first start would lead to them becoming the AFC champions.

...seeing Peyton run is odd

Seeing Harrison SPRINT from behind on that interception, only to still watch an opposing player score a touchdown.. after so many men couldn't... sad. That man had some serious hustle and heart.

The beginning of the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen

"Minus their leader" Yeah, okay.

To remain competitive pretty much every year(going _deep_ into the postseason), from 2001-present, in this age of salary cap and free-agency - which is specifically designed to prevent that from happening, is beyond amazing.

A Legend is Born!

I was playing my first year of pee wee football when Brady made his first start. I was 7. About to be 27 January 2021. Crazy to see this man still dominating the league as I near my 30s 😂 🐐

Who knew that this one game would just be the beginning of a legend and a dynasty

Ah 2001, back when Brady’s job was initially just “don’t screw up,” then in 2002 he became a driving force on offense (people forget he was putting up some really good numbers before 2007).

Thank you Tom Brady for extending our New England summers and shortening our winters for 20 years, and making it easy to go to work on most Mondays.

So much nostalgia watching the defense from those early super bowl runs. It feels like it was so long ago. I wish football was still this hard hitting today.

Just came back and watched this. Brady was more of a game manager then. He was very comfortable. The defense was awesome! Mac Jones looks very comfortable too. I am not saying Mac is Brady,but Mac does look very similar to how Brady was then. Mostly short accurate throws that move the chains. The big difference is that the Patriots defense isn’t near as good now,and the running game isn’t either.

Colts fan here: I remember this game very clearly. Sitting around with my friends and then going outside at half time to throw the football around. We were even demoralized by the smackdown the Pats were putting in the Colts. No one said a word. We were just in shock. Lol. Hat tip to the Pats. Winningest dynasty in football history.

That was a very good, opportunistic defense the Patriots had that year. Great mix of guys drafted by Bill Parcells, and players brought over from Cleveland by Bill Belichick. Then there's that Brady guy. He didn't have great stats in this game, but in the game two weeks later against San Diego, it was his clutch throws that led to a comeback win in OT.

Tom Brady showing that 5.28 speed 3:09

"the kid has made some big plays today folks"....little did everyone know.

Of the NFL teams starting 0-2, which has the best shot at winning the Superbowl? New England.

Solid throws but I don't see anything special. Will be a solid quarterback for only a couple of years but not expecting much from this Tom Brady guy.

13:40 that's incredible. You're starting with an inexperienced QB with a blowout win and you trust this kid enough to go for it on 4th and 3. I don't care what anyone says. Coaches must have had a shit ton of confidence in Brady even back then to allow him pull that shit.

The game that gave birth to the greatest Qb battle of all time

Damn. Manning choking against NE going back to Brady’s first start 😂

A Goat is born.

The fact that Brady is still playing like this to this day is amazing

It's crazy how good he was from day one. They were blissfully ignorant of what they were witnessing. So we all were. I just started really watching football that year. I was 10 years old living in atlanta... mike vick just got drafted.. I just started playing football when I was 9 the year before... good times man. I miss the NFL Live game recaps too... that was the friggin best.

Good to hear a young Gus Johnson, one of my favorite broadcasters

Really cool shot at about 9:00 of Foxboro Stadium, with the new stadium being built in the back. It was originally going to be called CMGI Field, but the dot-com bubble burst out an end to that. Gillette signed on to sponsor the stadium, and that was that. Hadn’t seen an image like that before.

One of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen.

Now he is heading to super bowl 55 with the bucs vs the chiefs

I don't remember that game, but Brady is and always has been a winner.

What I see from this is Brady's hallmark poise, not making stupid mistakes by trying to force anything, Like Peyton did and it cost him, Pats defense was doing their best to help Brady transition, that was apparent, they did a great job in this game.

coming back to these videos after his announcement of retirement):

Boy Peyton really got rocked in this one lol

Watching some of these clips, and just seeing and remembering some those hard hits you used to see. Football being football

It’s like watching 2 anime or comics characters fighting at the beginning of the story

I remember as a Pats fan, many fans couldn’t really believe this backup Brady was winning. For a little while there was a feeling he was just getting lucky, but we needed Bledsoe to get healthy and get back in. And even though Brady kept winning, a few weeks later when Bledsoe was healthy again fans seemed split about 50/50 whether Brady should remain the starter. But then Brady went on a huge win streak in the 2nd half of the season and no one was talking about Bledsoe anymore

I had no idea how legendary of a start Tom had. Unreal. These two.

I wonder if Peyton Manning had a feeling that this was a sign of things to come against Tom Brady?

When Tom Bradys career stats first popped up it was crazy looking at that knowing those numbers are gonna get a lot bigger over the years

Tom Brady after Drew Bledsoe’s Hit:7 Super Bowl wins,10 Super Bowl Appearances,15 Pro Bowls,5 Super Bowl MVPs,2009 Comeback player of the year,2 time Offensive player of the year,3 time first team All-Pro,3 time second team All-Pro and 3 NFL MVPS in 22 NFL Seasons since 2001. All time Leader with Most Passing Touchdowns,Passing Yards,passing Completions,passing attempts,Career Wins,Career playoff wins and an passer rating of 97.6

I have a cousin who was born this year and is now a parent and Brady is still playing/winning. CRAZY

The beginning of Brady/Belichick's 6-0 record vs Peyton 2001-04

09:16 “How come New England isn’t in the poll, they were 0-2?” Everyone else: laughs Oh boy.

Who would have known that game would be the start of one of the best qb rivalries in history

Gives me chills an almost mirror of what the 49ers are going through right now. Who knows if Brock Purdy leads this team to a SB but 8m here for the ride.

How cool is it that Tom Brady’s first NFL start turned out to be Chapter I of the greatest player rivalry in NFL history? Of the list of top 10 games of all time, at least a third have to be Brady-Manning games. Side note this was one of 8 straight Foxboro losses (including 2 playoff games) from 98-05 for Manning to start his career

Surprised I’ve never watched highlights of this before. Thanks for uploading!

I have been a Patriots fan since 1980.Cheering them on when they were 1 an 15. Year after year and I'm so glad I was able to see them rise up and become winners.

The start of one of the greatest careers in history 🤘🏻

Brady’s first start & win & the rest is history!

So weird watching this and realizing it’s been 18 YEARS. I’m trying to imagine what people in the crowd look like 18 years from now😂

I almost feel like he’s even stepped away from the other goats. Jordan, Woods, Ali, Ruth. He’s the greatest sports icon ever

Here after his seventh Super Bowl win! The GOAT Tom Brady