There shouldn't be any questions at all about these New England Patriots when it comes to mental toughness, when it comes to heart, or when it comes to the right arm of Tom Brady.
...trailing 24-0 at the break after the worst half of football ever played by a Bill Belichick team, the New England Patriots scored on five consecutive possessions for 31 unanswered points - then capitalized on a Denver turnover late in overtime as the Patriots scored an epic 34-31 comeback victory over the Broncos on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Brady was simply sensational.
After throwing for just 81 yards in the first half, Brady came out of the tunnel on fire in the second half, throwing for 263 and three touchdowns, leaning on his veteran receivers Julian Edelman and big Rob Gronkowski and getting timely assists from H-back Shane Vereen and rookie Kenbrell Thompkins to methodically move the chains.
And all into an icy wind that drove steadily into his face at a clip of 25 miles per hour.
The Broncos' defense had no answer for the Patriots' quarterback in the second half, and part of that had to do with the final play of the first half.
New England had gained possession of the football when Denver's Trindon Holliday muffed a Ryan Allen punt and rookie defensive end Michael Buchanan fell on it at midfield - but with just five seconds left before halftime, Brady heaved a pass into the strong wind coming out of the north and the pass fluttered...
...Denver's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie diving to try and make the interception and landing awkwardly on his shoulder - so lost for the rest of the game, Brady picking on his replacement, rookie corner Kayvon Webster and then on 12 year veteran Quentin Jammer until Broncos coach Jack Del Rio finally went to pure zone defense to try and stop the red hot Brady.
But by the time he did, Brady had already brought the Patriots all the way back - and then some.
Edelman burned the Broncos' secondary repeatedly, catching nine balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns - and Gronkowski caught seven for 90 tough yards, half of them dragging defenders behind him. Brandon Bolden did just enough to keep the defense honest, being promoted to lead back after Stevan Ridley and LeGarrette Blount both lost fumbles, going for 58 yards on 13 carries.
Which pales in comparison to what Knowshon Moreno did to the Patriots, consistently gashing the light New England rush defense look for 224 yards on 37 carries - which was fortunate for Denver because quarterback Peyton Manning had his worst game of the season, the brutal cold and trying to throw into a stiff wind limiting him to 150 yards passing on a 19 of 36 performance.
But in the end, it was Brady outperforming everyone else on the field - and if you still have any questions about Brady or these New England Patriots - about their heart or their will or their talent - maybe you shouldn't watch football any more.
Photo Credit - David Silverman via New England Patriots
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