EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Some NFL players would pee their pants when facing a two-point deficit with 1:47 left in the game.
Not the New England Patriots. That’s a normal Thursday or Friday with head coach Bill Belichick.
The Patriots were surgical in their last-minute drive Sunday after Tom Brady oddly decided to throw deep on first down, saved only by New York Giants safety Landon Collins dropping a sure interception. The Patriots then marched 44 yards down the field to set up Stephen Gostkowski for a 54-yard field goal. The kicker, who has been perfect all season, would have been good from 70 yards, as he won the game, 27-26.
“We do that two-minute drill a few times a week,” wide receiver Danny Amendola, who converted a key fourth down with a catch, said after the game at MetLife Stadium. “We’re really comfortable in that situation. It just came down to doing your job and getting it done.”
Not all Patriots players are as cold blooded as Amendola, who had three catches for 32 yards on the final drive.
“It’s nerve wracking, but at the end of the day, we practice it so much,” wide receiver Brandon LaFell said. “We practice it so much, and we knew, hey when the defense held them to a field goal, we were like, ‘Hey man, we’re down two, let’s just do what we do best. We do this every Thursday. We do it every Friday. Let’s go out here and make a couple plays, we need a couple of short plays to get us over the hump, and whenever your number is called, no matter how tired you are, just go out there and make a play. Just get us in field-goal range. If not, go get the touchdown.’ ”
They got the field goal, and Brady picked up his 48th career game-winning drive and 36th fourth-quarter comeback.
“Obviously, the execution was OK,” Brady said. “I thought it obviously could have been better, but we made enough and got enough yards. Steve is a clutch kicker, so it was great to see the ball go through those uprights.”
Thumbnail photo via Jim O’Connor/USA TODAY Sports Images
