Patriots quarterback Tom Brady found himself in a bizarre situation on Sunday.
Facing a tough Jets’ defense, New England came into this contest with the intention of attacking New York through the air, with Brady throwing 54 times on Sunday and finishing with his 68th 300-yard performance, good for 3rd most all time in the league in that category.
That left the Patriots not handing the football during the majority of Sunday’s game, with James White and LeGarrette Blount carrying a combined five times for just one yard.
So when Brady took off in the second quarter on a 3rd-and-10 play for an 11-yard run, he probably had no idea that rush would establish him as the game’s leading rusher by the time it was over.
That was a key play in the game after Brady took off down the field, taking the ball from the Jets’ 13 down to the two yard line. Two plays later Brady leaped up and over on a 4th-and-1 for the touchdown, tying the score at 10-10 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half.
After the game, Brady said don’t plan on seeing too many plays like that this season.
“I say enjoy this, because it will probably never happen again,” Brady joked following the game. “The third down play was, they had pretty good coverage and I just saw a little seam. So I just kind of, rumbled toward the goal line.”
The televisions compared Brady’s run to that of a “cheetah” and overall he finished the day with 4 carries for 15 yards, making him the game’s top ball-carrier, something that was a first for his career and likely might be one of the last times that ever happens.
Brady admitted he like’s being a threat running with the football, but he knows that defenses are likely raring to get a shot in on him. Hopefully heading into the rest of the season, it won’t be something he’ll have to do very often.
“It’s good when I have the threat of the ball in my hand because they’re not quite sure if they can go drill me or not,” said Brady. “I just try to keep pump-faking as long as I can to keep them all at bay.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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