That little ditty from legendary football coach Bill Walsh was offered up in response to fan and media criticism to his San Francisco 49ers struggling in the midst of one of their championship seasons - and if there is an axiom that fits the New England Patriots season thus far, that is it.
Quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots offense to scores on five consecutive possessions in the second half, throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns on a masterful 18 of 23 performance in the second half in erasing a 10 point halftime deficit - and the defense did just enough to help New England escape from Houston with a 34-31 victory over the Texans.
Brady hit on touchdown throws of 23 yards to Rob Gronkowski and nine yards to Shane Vereen and got a touchdown runs from LeGarrette Blount and fullback James Develin as the Patriots snapped a three-game road losing streak and inched closer to their fifth consecutive AFC East division title.
The Patriots can clinch the division with a win over Cleveland next Sunday at Gillette Stadium, coupled with a Miami loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
The normally complimentary New England running game was anything but against the Texans, Blount and Vereen carrying most of the load with lead back Stevan Ridley rendered a spectator from coach Bill Belichick's dog house, gaining just 88 yards on 27 carries for an abysmal 3.2 yards per carry...
...while the Texans rode their ninth-ranked ground game for 121 yards, running back Ben Tate shouldering the bulk of the carries for 102 tough yards and three touchdowns while Houston quarterback Case Keenum victimized the out-of-sync New England secondary for 272 yards, with All Pro receiver Andre Johnson accounting for nearly half of that yardage total on eight catches.
Neither defense was up to the task, though the Patriots' defense rose to the occasion at winning time, the beat up unit playing great when they had to.
The Texans started quickly, sustaining long drives in taking a 10 point lead on a Tate eight-yard run and capitalizing on Brady being picked off by Johnathan Joseph with a Randy Bullock field goal, but Brady came right back, hooking up with Gronkowski on a terrific shoe-top catch and roll into the end zone to cut the deficit to 10-7.
The Texans responded with another long drive deep into Patriots' territory for what appeared to be headed for another score until Logan Ryan picked of a Keenum wobbler intended for DeAndre Hopkins, but a missed 55 yard field goal attempt by Stephen Gostkowski on the ensuing New England drive set Keenum and the Texans up on a short field, and seven plays later Tate took one in from the one-yard line for a 17-7 halftime lead.
But - as in just about every game lately for each team - the Patriots went on second half scoring binge while the Texans coughed up a halftime lead, though Keenum and the Houston offense made things very interesting.
New England took the second half kickoff and struck quickly, Develin giving second and third efforts to bulldoze his way into the end zone to cap a five play 78 yard drive to close the gap to three points, the key play a 50 yard catch and rumble by Gronkowski, dragging three defenders deep into Texans' territory...
...then taking the lead on a nine-yard Vereen isolation catch and run that again saw the Patriots move down the field efficiently and in haste in seven plays spanning 73 yards to go up by a score of 21-17.
But Keenum was far from finished, leading the Texans on their only sustained drive of the second half to retake the lead at 24-21, capping the 10 play, 81 yard drive on a five-yard keeper - taking the three point lead into the final frame.
Blount found paydirt just into the 4th quarter, his seven-yard rumble the pinnacle of the Patriots longest drive of the game to retake the lead at 28-24, but it took Keenum just three plays to answer, finding Hopkins for a 66 yard gain down to the New England 14 on a blown coverage by Patriots' cornerback Kyle Arrington, Tate finding the end zone from 10 yards out two plays later for a 31-28 Texans' advantage.
That was when the Patriots' defense, victimized by the running of Tate and the passing arm of Keenum - not to mention more than a few coverage gaffes of thier own doing - clamped down at winning time, matching Brady's excellence and the strong leg of Gostkowski, holding the Texans to a three-and-out and on a 4th and 13 on successive possessions...
...Gostkowski nailing a pair of 53 yard field goals to on two consecutive drives to ice the close contest.
So once again, the Patriots followed up a dismal first half on both sides of the ball with spirited and disciplined play in the second half to take a game that just about any other team in the National Football League would have lost - such is the method of operations for the boys from Foxborough.
No panic, no anxiety and hopefully Patriots' fans didn't tune out when all seemed lost, because when it comes to Belichick, Brady and an resilient defense, they again played great when they had to.
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