Patriots finally catch on, win battle of heavyweights
The stadium was half empty and hope was all but lost when only 73 seconds –and 70 yards – separated the New England Patriots from a two-game losing streak and a mini crisis. It defied logic to envision the Patriots getting out of this hole.
Approximately 30,000 people should have known better – much better – than to turn their backs on Tom Brady.
The living legend led a last-minute touchdown drive, capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds remaining as the New England Patriots snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in an improbable 30-27 come-from-behind victory against the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
The improbability not only came from the miraculous nature of the winning score, but that the ball was actually caught in the first place. Drops and miscommunications with Brady and the wide receivers, especially in the second half, plagued the offense again. At least it plagued the unit until it mattered the most.
“I have confidence in those guys,” said Brady in the postgame press conference. “We’re certainly not perfect out there. We’re just trying to get better every day in practice and every game. These situations that come up, we’re learning from them.”
As long as the drops continue to happen, it’s hard to envision the Patriots as a team that can emerge as a favorite to win the AFC, especially when Brady was 4-for-15 with an interception in the second half before the late-game dramatics. The last-minute drive, however, showed that, no matter who is catching the ball from Brady, giving Tom Terrific enough time and a chance to win the game in dramatic fashion is akin to the letting the fox gain access to the hen house. You don’t know the result for sure, but you can take an educated guess as to what would happen.
The comeback started with Julian Edelman – a clear culprit in the butterfingers epidemic tonight – making a tough catch over the middle to begin the drive for 23 yards. It also saw Austin Collie – a player that just arrived in town over a week ago and who missed all of the 2012 season with a concussion – catch the next crucial pass for 15 yards. Next up was Aaron Dobson, a 2013 second-round pick that might be the biggest owner of the dropsies early on for the Patriots, who made a catch for six yards. Two plays later, on fourth down from the 26-yard-line, Collie came up big once again (his two catches on this drive were the first in a Patriots uniform). Only 10 seconds remained after a clock play, and it was time to take bets on which unlikely hero was going to be cast in such the very role. The winner was the undrafted Thompkins, snaring a pass seven yards deep over the outstretched arm of Jabari Greer and sending the half-empty Gillette Stadium into a frenzy.
The story of this game would not be complete without talking about the Patriots defense, especially in the fourth quarter, when they held the Saints to two late field goals – one on a drive when the Saints started at New England’s 26 after an interception – when a touchdown could have been the death knell.
For New Orleans, they missed a glorious chance to go 6-0 and put a vice grip on the NFC North, and the opportunities they had in the fourth to put the game away will be ones they think about throughout the upcoming bye week. After only scoring seven first-half points and being stifled by the Patriots stellar play in the secondary, Drew Brees and the offense woke up, spurred on by the run game. In total, New Orleans averaged five yards per carry (131 rushing yards), but Brees struggled, only completing 17 of his 36 passes for 236 yards with a touchdown and interception. All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham was held without a catch due to the work of cornerback Aqib Talib, who was assigned to shadowing the bigger and taller Graham. Both Graham and Talib left the game with injuries, the result of constant battling and jostling at the line of scrimmage.
Surprisingly enough, the quarterbacks with two-longest streaks of games with at least one touchdown pass – Brees at 54 straight, Brady at 52, each did not throw a touchdown until the fourth quarter. It turned out to be a game in which the team that had the ball last would get that last touchdown to secure victory.
Advantage to the Patriots, even if it took until the end to catch on – literally.
[More Post Pattern: Audio Interview with Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard]
[audio:http://10ee5eb6907d78840d63-8e1e5dd8679f231dcbc4aa2ccbe6df56.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/Alfonzo Dennard interview (Saints-Pats).mp3]
