Brady fell to 1-3 lifetime in Denver with the New England Patriots' 20-17 overtime loss to the Broncos on Sunday, and he is 1-6 in his career against the Broncos. They're the only team in the NFL with a winning record against the New England quarterback.
"It was poor execution," Brady told reporters at his postgame news conference, when asked about his performance. "That's what it comes down to. There were plays there to be made that we had all day. We just didn't make them."
Brady completed 19-of-33 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday. The numbers weren't bad — above average, even — but they don't tell the entire story. The Patriots failed to score in the second half as they allowed the Broncos to erase a 10-point deficit before the hosts prevailed in overtime.
There was Brady's badly overthrown pass to wide receiver Randy Moss in the first half, which — if it had been on target — would have led to a touchdown.
And then there was, perhaps, their most frustrating drive of the season. The Broncos committed two special-teams penalties that resulted in Patriots first downs in the second half, but they couldn't cap off the drive with any points. Brady completed 2-of-6 passes for 17 yards during that drive, and he was just 1-of-3 for 11 yards after Denver's first penalty on that series.
"There were just too many bad plays, too many plays where 11 guys aren't on the same page doing the right thing," Brady said. "I think that's the key to offensive football, and I think as a team we've got to be able to sustain the drives. When you get second chances, you've got to take advantage of them, and we didn't do that."
After the Patriots defense made a big stop late in the fourth quarter, Brady got the ball back with 2:27 remaining in regulation with the scored tied 17-17 and a chance to win the game. Three plays later, with the ball on the Denver 49-yard line, Brady dropped back and was stripped by Denver defensive end Vonnie Holliday. The fumble turned into an uncharacteristic turnover during a money situation.
"We had the opportunity to win the game there at the end, and we kind of squandered that away," Brady said. "You can't win if you don't score any points in the second half, and I think that's what it comes down to."
Brady's first career playoff loss came in a 27-13 defeat at Denver on Jan. 14, 2006, when he was 20 for 36 for 341 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Brady also had his first career four-interception game at Denver in 2001. In his seven career games against the Broncos, he has completed 154-of-262 passes (58.8 percent) for 1,858 yards (265.4 per game), 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Sunday also served as Brady's first overtime defeat in eight career games. That, however, wasn't really his fault — he never got the chance to touch the ball in overtime. But with the way Brady and the offense rolled in the first half, the game never should have reached an extra session.
"I don't think we're playing well enough here," Brady said of his poor record in Denver. "I don't think we wait for things to bounce our way. I think you've got to go out and make things happen. As an offense, we didn't make things happen today. In the first half, there were some plays … I missed Randy on a touchdown pass. That would have been a big play for us. In the second half, not scoring any points, that's a tough way to end the day.
"I think everyone is frustrated, as you should be. Everyone is disappointed by the loss, but no one is going to bail us out of it. You've got to go out there and get back to work."