Duel lives up to the hype, and then some
Brady did just enough to get past the teacher
This was the master vs. the star pupil. It was the Karate Kid’s Mr. Miyagi and his protege Daniel, squared off on opposite sides.
Everyone in New England and beyond wanted to know if Tom Brady could outwit Bill Belichick, using all the lessons learned from spending two decades with the greatest and wisest teacher of all.
And could Belichick take down one more great quarterback, as he had done so many times in the past with Jim Kelly in the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning in those early years, and Patrick Mahomes more recently?
Could he scheme the underdog Patriots to victory on a rainy night in Foxboro?
In the end, the bout didn’t disappoint. It was the ultimate chess match between two greats who were facing off for the first time.
And while this wasn’t the Super Bowl, with no trophies handed out after the game, it was a meaningful regular season game nonetheless.
While Brady may have won the war, winning a Super Bowl his first year away, Belichick and the Patriots earned a ton of points given how well they played throughout, especially rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
At the outset, Devin McCourty urged his teammates to “fight all night” if necessary. That, they did.
Games of this magnitude — and ticket cost — rarely, if ever, live up to the hype. But this one came pretty close. It was edge-of-yourseat suspense right up until the end.
For most of this game, Belichick had the Patriots defense charged up, frustrating the GOAT almost at every turn. But four field goals — the last coming with 1:57 left — was enough to slip by the Patriots 19-17.
The Patriots got the ball back, and had one last chance. Jones advanced the ball close enough for Nick Folk to attempt a 56-yard field goal. It hit the left upright. No good.
It was a tough end to a terrific game.
Brady knows the Patriots better than anyone. And during the week, he claimed he knew “exactly” what they’d throw at him.
He might have known, but Belichick was still able to exploit Brady and the Bucs offense, keeping the high-scoring offense out of the end zone.
Belichick’s bend-butdon’t-break defense was alive and well and back in business.
Brady helped the cause by missing a few open targets. Perhaps he was too pumped, throwing high more than a few times.
And then, for good measure, Belichick’s quarterback, Jones, not only matched Brady, but had the Patriots leading at the half, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the second quarter.
Naturally, the Patriots zeroed in on the Buccaneers diminished secondary. They took aim at veteran Richard Sherman, who had been signed off the street earlier in the week. Given injuries, they had little choice but to play him.
The time of possession in the first half was fairly even, which was an advantage to Belichick’s team during the surprisingly lowscoring contest. Although, lowscoring played right into the Patriots hands.
Given how Brady and the Bucs were supposed to slaughter the Patriots, the fact they trailed 7-6 was stunning to say the least.
Before it was over, Josh McDaniels pulled out every trick in the book, using Jacobi Meyers to deliver a 30-yard pass to Nelson Agholor to set up up the go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 4:34 to play. It was the second gadget play pulled out by the Patriots, to try and beat Brady & the Bucs.
Former Patriots Rodney Harrison and Heath Evans had characterized what the game meant to Brady, heading in, and this was a far cry from what the former quarterback was hoping for.
Harrison said it was personal. The Patriots didn’t believe in Brady, and didn’t want him. “That’s Tom’s mindset,” Harrison said.
Evans took it a step further, saying: “If you ask Tom to choose, give me ring eight, or let me smash Bill, he’d probably choose smash Bill.”
The first half was more a love tap when it came to Brady. It was the Patriots who were doing the smashing, not the legend who used to reside at their address.
But all of that just set the stage for more intrigue and fireworks in the second half, with both sides trading scores and blows.
The Patriots were poised for more points, moving the ball to the Bucs 28, but a J.J. Taylor fumble put the ball back into Brady’s hands.
They survived that, but didn’t survive a controversial unsportsmanlike penalty called on Matthew Slater during a punt. Slater’s supposed crime was that he didn’t immediately come back in bounds after being knocked out, twice.
He forced a fumble, but that went for not.
Brady got the ball back in good field position, then took advantage, moving for a score late in the third quarter to go up 13-7.
The Patriots were undaunted, moving back for the go-ahead score.
Jones performance was truly the highlight. He was operating with no running game to speak of, with his backs netting minus-six years in the first half. He was
once again getting hammered by the pass rush. But once again, he hung in and delivered the football.
He hit both tight ends for touchdown passes, with Smith catching a 1-yard pass for the go ahead score to start the fourth quarter, giving the Pats a 14-13 lead.
Undaunted, a determined Brady answered with a 15-play drive, that set up a 27-yard field goal. The Patriots defense stiffened once again, stalling the drive at the 8-yard line.
So now Belichick falls to 27-31 all-time without Brady, and 8-12 without him on the Patriots.
In the end, those numbers meant nothing. Brady got another measure of revenge, but the Patriots look like they have a promising future.