Brady, Pats Top Cowboys

Surprise! Brady does it again

The Patriots had just gone down, 16-13, and this series looked like their last chance.  2:30 to go, the pigskin (and the game) in Tom Brady's hands and his 30 start winning streak at Gillette on the line.

This was exactly the kind of pressure situation he relishes with circumstances he always seems to overcome.  Was there ever any doubt he would deliver the way has time and time again throughout the past decade?

Sure, he'd thrown a couple picks earlier in the game, but that might as well have been ancient history.  You just knew he was going to at least push New England into field goal range, regardless of his struggles against the Dallas defense that afternoon.

And wouldn't you know it, Tom Terrific delivered again.  He needed little more than two minutes to move the ball 78 yards, a methodical drive of short/medium passes underneath the coverage that culminated in a perfect throw to Aaron Hernandez cutting through the middle of the end zone with 22 seconds remaining.

Just another day at the office for New England's quarterback, who clocked out with 289 yards and a pair of TDs (the other went to his go-to target, Wes Welker, who had an otherwise quiet day) on 27/41 passing.  He spread the ball between Branch, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Welker to keep the offense balanced against a strong defensive effort from Rob Ryan's D. 

Once again New England's much maligned defense was solid, coming up with a critical stop/forcing a punt in the series before Brady's game winning drive and limiting Tony Romo and the Cowboys to just one touchdown.  The Patriot D really shut the door on third down by holding Dallas to just four conversions in thirteen attempts.

Ironically, this game was supposed to be a high-scoring slugfest between two high-powered offenses, but it quickly dissolved into a sloppy mess of turnovers and failed drives.  Both teams combined for six turnovers (three picks and three fumbles) while settling for a pair of short-range field goals.  The Pats actually went up 13-3 in the second quarter but came up empty in the second half before Brady saved the day.

With the Bills falling to the Giants, 27-24, New England (5-1) grabbed first place in the AFC East.  They have a bye for Week 7, but will return to the gridiron the following week in Pittsburgh for a showdown with the Steelers.