EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tom Brady set yet another NFL record Sunday afternoon, winning his 187th game to unseat Peyton Manning and Brett Favre atop the league’s all-time regular-season wins list.
Don’t expect the New England Patriots quarterback to celebrate his latest achievement, though.
Brady spent most of his postgame news conference lamenting the fact the Patriots’ offense wasn’t more productive in the team’s 24-17 victory over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
“I wish we would have done better,” said Brady, who completed 20 of 38 passes for a season-low 257 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. “But we won, so (there is) probably a lot to learn from it.”
Brady had just 31 passing yards in the first quarter, and the Jets led 14-0 early in the second before New England’s offense finally began to stir.
Dion Lewis ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 5:19 remaining before halftime. The Patriots’ next two drives ended in an interception and a missed field goal, but Malcolm Butler picked off Josh McCown with 40 seconds remaining in the quarter to give Brady and Co. another shot at the end zone.
Brady connected with Brandin Cooks on a 42-yard bomb down the left sideline, then fired a 2-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski to tie the game just before the break.
Another Brady-to-Gronkowski touchdown in the third quarter and a successful Stephen Gostkowski field goal in fourth gave the Patriots the necessary cushion to withstand a late Jets push.
“I wish we could have played a bit better offensively,” Brady said. “We got down early and fought back. We had a good series before the half and hung in there at the end.”
Brady appeared visibly angry on numerous occasions throughout the game, especially after former teammate Kony Ealy batted down a third-down pass intended for Cooks. Several of Brady’s teammates said they feed off their QB’s intensity.
“He’s a competitor,” running back Dion Lewis said. “He’s going to show his emotion. He’s going to show his emotion, and you see how much he cares. He’s not going out there just to play — he wants to win. He wants every job to be perfect. That’s just the guy he is.”
“That’s our leader,” Cooks added. “That’s who we follow. When he gets hyped like that, we’d better get on the same page.”
Thumbnail photo via Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports Images
