How the Tom Brady career timeline works

Tom Brady's long NFL career is split into cards here, from his draft through Super Bowls, records, an injury, a suspension and more than one retirement. You put the moments in order of year, and a hint under each card adds a little detail. One moment starts on the timeline with its year showing. Slot each new card into a gap; right answers reveal the year, and wrong ones still land in place but cost one of three lives.

With so many championships, the Super Bowl cards are the hardest to tell apart, and the opponent named on each is your best way through. Remember that a Super Bowl is played early in the calendar year after its season, which can shift a card. The hint lines help with the losses, the records and the late move to a new team, while the retirement cards sit close together and are easy to mix up.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 26 of the 26 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Drafted in the sixth round by the Patriots A late-round pick who slipped
Took over as starter after Drew Bledsoe's injury An unexpected chance under center
Won his first Super Bowl and its MVP against the Rams Upset the heavily favored Rams
Won a second Super Bowl over the Panthers A thriller decided by a late kick
Won a third championship against the Eagles Back-to-back titles secured
Set a single-season record with fifty touchdown passes A prolific new passing benchmark
Won his first league MVP leading an undefeated regular season A perfect regular-season run
Lost the undefeated bid in the Super Bowl to the Giants A stunning end to the perfect season
Tore his ACL in the season opener A season lost to a knee injury
Won a second, unanimous MVP Named the best by every voter
Lost a Super Bowl rematch to the Giants A second title-game defeat to New York
Won a fourth Super Bowl over the Seahawks A goal-line interception sealed it
Served a four-game Deflategate suspension Sat out over the football-inflation saga
Led the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history against the Falcons Erased a huge deficit in overtime
Won a third MVP Another most-valuable honor late in his career
Lost a Super Bowl to the Eagles A shootout defeat in Minneapolis
Named to the NFL one-hundredth anniversary all-time team Honored among the league's greatest
Won a sixth ring against the Rams A defensive slugfest crowned him again
Left New England to sign with Tampa Bay A late-career move to Florida
Won a seventh championship with the Buccaneers A record ring with a new team
Earned a fifth Super Bowl MVP against the Chiefs Outdueled a younger star
Passed Drew Brees for the career passing yards record Became the all-time yardage leader
Threw his six-hundredth career touchdown pass A milestone scoring toss
Briefly announced his first retirement A short-lived farewell
Reversed course and returned for another season Unretired to keep playing
Announced his retirement for good The final goodbye to football