MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — If there’s a silver lining to the New England Patriots’ Week 17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, it’s that they came out of the game mostly healthy.
Mostly healthy.
Quarterback Tom Brady was beat up in Sunday’s 20-10 loss, however, most notably when he took a low shot from Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter. Suh came from the right unblocked before Patriots offensive tackle Marcus Cannon was able to get a hand on his head, pushing the Dolphins pass rusher to the ground as he collided with the back of Brady’s knees. Cannon was flagged for illegal use of hands on the play.
“I didn’t see the replay,” Brady said. “I’ll be anxious to see it.”
Brady stayed on the turf before limping to the sideline, where he had his right ankle re-taped. He officially was hit six times, though it certainly seemed like more.
“Pretty sore,” Brady said. “I’ll be all right.”
It appears Brady had to brace himself as he left the podium after his postgame news conference.
Brady was asked if he wanted to see the replay because he believed Suh went low and should have been penalized.
“No, I just didn’t see it,” Brady said. “I threw the ball away.”
Brady was spotted jawing with officials after being hit. He drew one personal foul-flag for a late hit by Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon.
“I always do, don’t I? I’m always trying to get a flag somehow,” Brady said. “It hasn’t worked very well this year.”
Brady was just 12-of-21 passing for 134 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. It appeared the Patriots were playing it safe early in the game, when they had 21 rushing attempts and just five passes in the first half, but Brady started heaving the ball deep later, which is when the hits really started to pile up.
Thumbnail photo via Andrew Innerarity/USA TODAY Sports Images
