Despite not having his three leading targets, Brady was nearly flawless again, and he continued to do things to impress his teammates. Even without wide receivers Wes Welker and Deion Branch and tight end Aaron Hernandez, Brady carved up the Dolphins by completing 10 of 16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns, and he extended his NFL record to 335 consecutive passes without an interception.
He staked the Pats to a 38-point lead with a touchdown pass to tight end Alge Crumpler on the first drive of the second half, and with that, his day was complete. By the time the week is over, Brady should have his second MVP trophy in tow.
The Patriots quarterback had one of his finest seasons, completing 65.9 percent of his passes (third-best mark of his career) for 3,900 yards (fourth-best), 36 touchdowns (second-best) and a career-low four interceptions. Last week, Brady said it would be a waste of time to evaluate his own performance, and Sunday, he deflected the credit to everyone else.
"I'm just trying to make good reads and good throws," Brady said. "Guys have done a hell of a job catching the ball in traffic. The offensive line has been protecting."
Since Brady wouldn’t take the bait, his teammates took the torch and glowed about how much he has meant to them this season.
"His passion, his energy, his steadiness is always the same," running back Fred Taylor said. "He's fiery. He's humble. You can't ask for much more. During the week, he's right here. The sense of urgency, the leadership, the passion, he prepares on the practice field just like he does in the game. When you put all that together, it's no secret that good things are going to happen to you."
"He's just consistent," Crumpler said. "He's the ultimate competitor, and that's it, period. He's the ultimate competitor."
Brady participated in every practice last week — because of his injured right foot and a short bout with the flu, he has only had perfect attendance in practice in three of the last eight weeks — and he was able to keep his teammates on task, making sure the young squad stayed focused for a regular-season finale that meant zilch in the standings.
"He's a great leader, always focused and he's always ready to go," said rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is one of 37 Patriots who has never won a playoff game. "That's what's awesome. He's always ready to go."
Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was at a loss for words when he was initially asked what makes Brady so impressive, saying, "It's hard to pick out one thing." Then, Green-Ellis opened up about the only quarterback he's ever met who actually tells his teammates what to do in the middle of a play. The more and more Green-Ellis explained it, the more excited he got, almost as if he couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his own mouth.
"I don't think you guys really realize he can be talking throughout a play," Green-Ellis said. "The play can actually be running, and he could still be talking to you. He's on top of it. I remember a play we had, and he's just talking to me during the play. He has the ball in his hands, and he's about to throw, and he's talking to me about something that is going on. He's seen a lot, and he's been through a lot. He's very experienced. He does a good job of what he does."
Brady is almost always in the MVP race, and he really emerged in the middle of the season. His popularity in that discussion gained steam every week, and it seems like a certainty that he'll beat out Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the award.
After that, Brady can chase more history. Brady will attempt to be the 11th player in history to win the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season.
