FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots dug into their bag of tricks for the second consecutive week.
Patriots offensive lineman Nate Solder caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the third quarter of Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Solder, at 320 pounds, became the heaviest player ever to catch a TD pass in the NFL playoffs, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Lundblad.
The Pats called big No. 77’s number on 3rd-and-1. Solder, who reported as eligible before the play, caught Brady’s pass and took it to the house from 16 yards out to give New England a 24-7 lead.
The touchdown catch was the first of Solder’s NFL career, though he was recruited as a tight end out of high school.
The Patriots, of course, used some trickery in their AFC divisional-round win over the Baltimore Ravens. The effort was highlighted by a nifty touchdown pass from wide receiver Julian Edelman to Danny Amendola.
