FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was only missing a reception Saturday in his team’s 24-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Brady got the job done as a passer, runner and even a blocker Saturday. The Patriots QB went 26-of-33 for 271 yards with a touchdown.
.@Mattylac11 is ?'d up after that TD.@TomBrady | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/a7Sj5KMEHP
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 21, 2019
He carried the ball twice for 6 yards with a first down.
The GOAT of QB sneaks. @TomBrady | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/h0jBOM4gsa
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 22, 2019
And he delivered a key block to Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White on an 18-yard run by wide receiver N’Keal Harry.
Tom to Rex to N'Keal with a block from TB12. @TomBrady | @NkealHarry15 pic.twitter.com/WPeoJrcu0g
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 21, 2019
That play was the talk of the postgame Saturday.
“Great, great,” Harry said. “That’s a true quarterback right there.”
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is more accustomed to those plays from Brady.
“I mean, we get one a year,” Edelman said. “We got one of those crazy blocks a year. The man’s 42.”
Brady was self-deprecating after laying out to spring Harry.
“I’m pretty poor at just about everything other than throwing the ball,” Brady said. “So, I was trying to just get in his way. But, it was a good, hard run by N’Keal, and it was a good play in the game.”
The Patriots’ offense delivered a surprisingly strong performance against a very good Bills defense. The Patriots totaled 414 total yards. They gained 135 yards on 35 carries on the ground.
Sony Michel led the way with 20 carries for 96 yards. Rex Burkhead led the Patriots with 77 receiving yards on four catches. He also carried the ball five times for 20 yards with a touchdown. Edelman caught five passes for 72 yards despite missing a quarter. And Harry had another promising performance, carrying the ball twice for 18 yards and catching two passes for 15 yards.
It was Brady’s best statistical showing — from a passer rating perspective — since Week 2. It was only the second time New England has gained over 400 yards of total offense since Week 6. And it was the team’s third-best performance running the ball. Maybe the Patriots’ offense wasn’t quite as high-powered as fans are accustomed to seeing over the course of their 19-season dynasty, but they were facing a top-rated defense.
Head coach Bill Belichick went into the week saying how difficult it was going to be to put together sustained drives against the Bills’ defense. The Patriots manufactured two 11-play drives and one 17-play drive, all of which ended with scores.
“They’re one of the top defenses in the league, and I think they might be the best defense in the league on a long field — or, they’re first or second, whatever it is,” Belichick said. “Yeah, I think it’s a real credit to the offensive staff, the game plan that Josh (McDaniels) and the coaches put together, and just the players’ execution. Whether it was making plays on first down, second down and some third-down conversions in there — a lot of our third-down conversions were shorter yardage, which is more success on first and second down, which that’s a good thing. So, that makes the third-down situation better, certainly for Tom. He’s got more options than when it’s third-and-3 than when it’s third-and-13. All that went into it.”
And it all really started with Brady’s performance.
“I think we’ve all seen Tom play a lot of his best football in the most critical games of the year, in the most critical situations in those games,” Belichick said. “Nobody prepares harder than Tom does, and he was ready to go, got a lot of help from the running game, the offensive line, the receivers.
“But, as you said, he was on the money, he was sharp. Again, that’s what we need from everybody this time of year. We’ve got to play like this every week or our season is going to end quickly. We all know that and nobody knows it better than he does. He prepares and works as hard, or harder than anybody to make sure that he’s at his best, and he certainly was today. Good day today.”
