I planned to write my first post here about the Seattle Seahawks defense and where it ranks among the best defenses of all time.

That changed when Tom Brady went all Tom Brady in the fourth quarter and imposed his will on said defense, a defense that held Aaron Rodgers out of the end zone for the majority of the game two weeks prior in the NFC championship to ultimately put the Seahawks in position to make a much talked about comeback.

What Brady did against arguably the best secondary (Seattle is No. 3 in the league in pass defense according to footballoutsiders) in football was nothing short of incredible, specifically in the fourth quarter where he was nearly perfect on two touchdown drives to lead the New England Patriots back from a 10-point deficit.

What Brady did almost didn’t matter when an improbable catch put the Seahawks in position to win the game before Russell Wilson threw an interception in the final minute.

The loss would have been Brady’s third in the Super Bowl and for the second time there would have been nothing more he could have done to win.

Brady’s Super Bowl success is hard to gauge. New England needed a fourth-quarter field goal to win their first two Super Bowls in of the Brady era, both games that could have easily gone the other way.

The fourth game turned on a circus helmet catch from a wide receiver who never really had another meaningful NFL moment. The fifth could have been won by New England if Brady throws a better pass to a WIDE open Wes Welker late in the game.

Only one of the six Super Bowls Brady played in was a clear victory, a three-point win over the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2004 season that was made to look much closer than it actually was thanks to a late touchdown pass.

Brady could be 1-5 in Super Bowls as easily as he could be 6-0. His 4-2 record is about right in the grand scheme. It puts him in a very small class of players to win that many, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana being the other two.

When you look at the GOAT conversation at the quarterback position Montana is where it starts partly for the fact that he has four rings.

Another guy who comes up in the conversation is the only other quarterback with at least five Super Bowl appearances, John Elway.

Those two are the benchmark for quarterback greatness. They both put up impressive numbers and had the postseason success to back it up. Brady is part of that group now.

Brady is part of that group for the reason that Peyton Manning isn’t, postseason success that compliments the regular season accomplishments.

Manning has been to three Super Bowls and won one. It’s been a great career for the 17-year NFL veteran, but at the same time, being one of the best of all time means you can’t have nine one-and-done playoff appearances in the 14 times you have made it to the playoffs.

In a quarterback-drive sport, to have an 11-13 record and be as good as Peyton Manning is just doesn’t translate to best that every played status.

There is nobody to play the position with more brutal efficiency in the regular season than Manning, but you have to be better than he has when it matters most.

That’s where Brady shines, and shines brighter than anyone else. Brady’s postseason win percentage is unbelievable, and I say that meaning it is truly hard to believe.

Brady is 21-8 in the postseason for win percentage of roughly 72.4. Montana’s win percentage is 69.6 and Elway’s 66.7, that with Brady playing more games than both Montana (23 games) and Elway (21 game) by a significant margin.

What’s also incredible about Brady’s postseason success is that the Patriots have made the playoffs every season since 2001, when Brady took over as the starting quarterback after an injury to Drew Bledsoe, except for the 2008 season when Brady was injured in the first game of the regular season.

Brady has never missed the playoffs when starting at least 14 games during that season (he’s started all 16 in each season of his career aside from 2008 when he missed 15 games, 2001 when he took over during the second game and 2000, which was his rookie year).

Montana similarly made the playoffs basically every year he stayed healthy, he just didn’t stay healthy the way Brady has throughout his career.

The Patriots’ win in the Super Bowl on Sunday probably secured Brady’s place in being considered the best to play the quarterback position. It has in my mind, placing him just north of Montana on the list.

When you consider only 10 quarterbacks have won multiple Super Bowls and only 20 have made it to multiple, the fact that Brady has four rings and six appearances is something we may never see again.