Tom Brady was a little dinged up heading into the New England Patriots’ Week 12 tilt with the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
The 41-year-old was listed as questionable throughout the week with both a knee ailment and the flu, but his availability never really was in doubt, as Brady made the start and led the Pats to a 27-13 win to move New England to 8-3.
So, now that New England has responded from their Week 10 loss to the Tennessee Titans, how’s the knee feeling?
“I’m certainly doing better this week,” Brady said Monday in his Westwood One interview with Jim Gray. “We had the game against Tennessee where I got a little nicked up and then had the bye week and was hoping to have a full week of practice, and it just didn’t allow for it. I’m feeling a lot better. A little flu has been going around, but I’m feeling a lot better and hopefully I really turned the corner with my knee this week.”
Brady and the Patriots got a gift Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Denver Broncos to fall to 7-3-1 and drop them behind New England in the AFC playoff picture. With the No. 1 seed firmly in their sights, Brady and Co. will turn their attention to the Minnesota Vikings who visit Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The legendary signal-caller is a bit dinged up, as most are after 12 weeks, but he isn’t worried about having to miss any time down the stretch.
“It can definitely heal, but my take on injuries is you’re really susceptible every time you go out,” Brady told Gray. “You can go out, be a little nicked up and if you get hit again, you could make it worse. But the reality is, you could wait for it to get fully healthy, and then go out and take a hit and get hurt again. If I can play, that’s what I’m going to always prefer to do and that’s what I’ve always done. And I realize there are risks that come with playing when you’re not fully healthy or when you’re not fully healed, but that’s part of the nature of the game.
“I think in many ways, it would hurt me more to not be playing and watching than it would be to deal with whatever I’m dealing with.”
The knee injury didn’t appear to hamper Brady too much in the win, as he tossed for 283 yards and two touchdowns in the win over New York.
