After throwing for over 300 yards -- including a 400-plus and 500-plus game -- in four of the first five games, Tom Brady has only done it twice in the last five games.
So what's up? You can't point to one specific reason, but according to a report from Pro Football Weekly, it could be injury-related.
A source close to the team and Pro Football Weekly says that Brady is dealing with something called "tennis elbow".
No, Tom hasn't been taking up a new sport in his down time.
What's tennis elbow, you ask? Instead of "googling" it, let's "WebMD" it.
WebMD says that tennis elbow is: "a common term for a condition caused by overuse of arm and forearm muscles that results in elbow pain.
That's right, blame Brady's newest injury on the Patriots finesse style offense and tendency to throw the ball far too often.
New England Patriots
Kidding, kind of.
WebMD continues:
"Tennis elbow is caused by either abrupt or subtle injury of the muscle and tendon area around the outside of the elbow. Tennis elbow specifically involves the area where the muscles and tendons of the forearm attach to the outside bony area (called the lateralepicondyle) of the elbow."
So can we expect the ailment to subside in the near future? Not exactly. The best way to cure the condition is to "rest and avoid any activity that causes pain to the sore elbow."
That's not going to happen for long enough stretches, although the same source told PFW that the Pats are resting Brady as much as they can during the week.
Brady has been seen wearing a black band on his right arm near the injury (pictured above).
The injury can also be treated by a cortisone injection in the area of the pain.
The percentage of people who recover from tennis elbow is 90-95 once treatment is followed.