Tom Brady’s Four Interceptions Help Bills Pull Off Huge Comeback

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Sep 25, 2011

Tom Brady's Four Interceptions Help Bills Pull Off Huge Comeback ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a season's worth of interceptions during Sunday's loss to the Bills.

Brady was picked off four times, which was the only statistic that truly mattered after the 34-31 loss. All four of his turnovers happened after New England established a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, and the Bills turned them into 24 points. One pick was returned for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Just two weeks ago, Brady's record of 358 consecutive pick-less passes in the regular season came to an end. The consequences of Sunday's inaccuracies against the Bills were far greater, as they led to a loss.

Brady only threw four interceptions in 492 attempts in 2010, when he was historically efficient, and he was off to one heck of a start Sunday against the Bills, making it look like he was ready to post up another tremendous day at the office after two weeks of brilliance in 2011.

Brady completed 16 of his first 21 passes for 222 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. He finished by completing 14 of 24 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. After a season in which Brady threw one pick for every 123 attempts, Brady closed the debacle in Buffalo with one pick for every six passes.

These types of things can be fluky, of course. Brady threw a handful of potential picks in 2010 that rattled out of some defenders' hands. And Sunday, two of his throws were tipped for interceptions — one off Danny Woodhead in the flat in the second quarter, and another seemingly safe attempt over the middle that was batted at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.

Brady threw two poor ones, too, though. He forced one to Chad Ochocinco in the third quarter, when cornerback Drayton Florence had good coverage and undercut the route to record the pick. And early in the fourth quarter, Brady badly underthrew Rob Gronkowski in the left seam, which led to George Wilson's interception.

"They made some good plays on the ball," Brady said. "You don't expect, some days the ball gets batted up in the air and it goes their way. Some days, it doesn't. It's part of the game."

It's only the sixth time in Brady's career that he's thrown four picks, and it was the first time it's happened since 2006. The errors overshadowed the fact that Brady started the season with 1,327 yards, which was the most in any three-game stretch in NFL history.

If anything, Brady should continue to post some big passing numbers over the course of the season, and the interceptions were likely an aberration. Sometimes, though, flukes lead to losses.

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