New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady moved closer to breaking two NFL records as he led his team to a 30-14 win over the New York Jets on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Brady broke a tie with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for the second in the all-time touchdown passes in NFL history. Brady, who reportedly had calf issues earlier in the week, connected with Phillip Dorsett for his 523rd touchdown pass in the first quarter, moving to second all-time behind Peyton Manning, who had 539 career touchdown passes. Brady is expected to gain more ground over Brees, who is expected to miss six weeks after undergoing surgery on his broken thumb.
In the second quarter, Brady increased his total to 524 touchdown passes with a three-yard scoring strike to Julian Edelman. With the rate he’s going, Brady will break Manning’s record late in the regular season. Currently, Brady has seven touchdown passes with no interception. Last season, Brady had 29 touchdown passes, so he’s on course to surpass Manning’s record.
Brady clinches 210th regular-season win
In leading the Patriots to their third win in as many games, the 42-year-old Brady clinched his 210th regular-season win, passing George Blanda for 2nd most all-time and moving close to the record being held by kicker Adam Vinatieri, who has 216 wins in his career. Brady also increased his NFL-record regular and postseason win tally to 240, three games ahead of Vinatieri.
Overall, Brady completed 28 of 42 passes for 306 yards and two scores with no interception as he notched his 28th career win over the Jets (0-3). Josh Gordon caught six passes for 83 yards, Edelman had seven receptions for 62 yards and a score while Dorsett had six catches for 53 yards and a touchdown for the Patriots. Rushers Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel each ran for a touchdown for New England.
Brady’s backup Jarrett Stidham briefly saw action, but he threw an interception that Jamal Adams returned for a 60-yard touchdown. With the pick-six, the Patriots failed to cover the 21-point spread, enraging bettors that put their money on New England to win by three touchdowns.
Belichick praises Patriots' defense
In their first three games, the Patriots defense gave up just three points -- a field-goal in their 33-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
Since then, the defense tightened up their guard, not allowing the offense of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets to put points on the board. While the Jets scored 14 points, they came from miscues by the offense and the special teams. “I think we've played good team defense at times. There are still things we need to work on and be a little more consistent at, things we can definitely coach better, but our players have prepared well, the communication has been good,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in his post-game press conference. Belichick particularly praised linebacker Jamie Collins for his outstanding play in the first three games.