The New England Patriots had quite an eventful seven days.
They were blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football,” prompting a whirlwind week that included reports of tension between Tom Brady and the Patriots’ coaching staff.
The Patriots appeared to respond to their critics Sunday night by trouncing the Cincinnati Bengals 43-17 at Gillette Stadium. Some called it a statement game, but wide receiver Julian Edelman said the outside noise had no impact on the team’s play.
“We ignore the noise around here,” Edelman said in an interview with WEEI on Monday. ” … We didn’t worry about what everyone else was saying about everything. We kind of just stuck together as a team and focused on the Cincinnati Bengals, because we really didn’t have a choice.”
At the center of it all was Brady, who looked like a man on a mission in throwing for a season-high 292 yards and two touchdowns. Yet when asked if his quarterback played with more of an edge after an exhausting week, Edelman said he didn’t see it.
“I really don’t. Tom’s always edgy,” Edelman said, via WEEI.com. “Tom’s always in there being a leader. We collectively all kind of just tried to do our job.”
Brady did his job and then some, and the quarterback decided to play a quick game of hot potato with Edelman following one of his touchdown passes, a 17-yard strike to tight end Tim Wright.
“Jules is like one of my younger brothers,” Brady admitted during his interview with WEEI. “We always have fun together. I said, ‘You spike it.’ And he tossed it back to me and he said, ‘You spike it.’ And I threw it back to him, and then he threw it back to me. That was awesome.”
Photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
