QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady was under tremendous duress much of the day yet threw touchdown passes and was 5-of-8 on throws that traveled 20 yards or more in the air. He repeatedly picked on newly signed Texans cornerback Johnthan Banks, who last week was working for FedEx and might be again soon. Banks was on receiver Brandin Cooks in the first quarter when Brady burned him on a 44-yard deep cross. When Brady saw Banks on Cooks in the third quarter, he scorched him again, leading the speedy receiver for a 42-yard touchdown. Brady also twice found Chris Hogan uncovered, once on a 7-yard cross near the goal line for a touchdown when safety Marcus Gilchrist got confused. The other was a perfect out-and-up route on which Hogan froze cornerback Johnathan Joseph for a moment as the safety ran off to double Cooks. Brady showed remarkable focus and presence of mind when, as he was going down under 1,000 pounds of Texans, he flipped the ball to tight end Rob Gronkowski for an improbable 8-yard gain. Brady capped off a day on which he was sacked five times, pressured 17 (including plays lost to penalties) and hit eight with a tremendous throw in the face of defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney for the gamewinning 25-yard TD to Cooks. Yet it wasn't all perfect. Brady tripped over the ankle of running back Mike Gillislee and sacked himself at the 2-yard line, fumbled on a Whitney Mercilus sack that turned into a Texans touchdown, and he made two mistakes on the final drive (fumble, near interception) that were not fatal. Sometimes even the G.O.A.T. needs some breaks.