USA TODAY International Edition
Reports of Brady’s demise were premature
Quarterback leads Patriots’ rout of floundering Saints
NEW ORLEANS Hold off on those retirement plans for Tom Brady.
Ten days after the four-time Super Bowl MVP and his New England Patriots looked out of sorts — and, dare we say it, old? — in a rout by the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning champions needed all of a quarter to show everyone just how ridiculous the predictions of their demise were. Brady threw for three touchdowns in the first quarter, the first time he’s done that in his career, and got reacquainted with old buddy Rob Gronkowski on a 53-yard touchdown as New England cruised to a 36-20 win against the virtually defenseless New Orleans Saints.
By halftime, Brady had already thrown for more yards (302) and had more completions (19) than he did in the entire opener. For a while he looked as if he might threaten his career high of 517 yards passing, but he finished 30 of 39 for 447 yards.
With two minutes remaining in the game, chants of “BRADY! BRADY!” echoed throughout the Superdome.
Granted, Brady was facing the Saints, which isn’t exactly a fair fight. The New Orleans defense has been awful the last few years — historically bad, in fact, allowing the most TD passes in NFL history two years ago — and it doesn’t look as if this season is going to be any different.
Still, it’s one thing to have opportunities, and another to make them pay. And oh, did Brady make the Saints pay.
Not that this should have surprised anyone. Dating to 2003, the Patriots are 41-7 after a regular-season loss. The last time people tried to write Brady and the Patriots off, after they got blown out by Kansas City in Week 4 in 2014, they won their next seven games — by an average of more than 16 points, no less — and finished the season with their fourth Super Bowl title.
Now, that’s not to say New England fans should start hunting for tickets to Minneapolis, site of Super Bowl LII, just yet. While the Patriots offense looked like the well-oiled machine the NFL has grown accustomed to seeing for much of the first half, it spent much of the second grinding in neutral.
A touchdown in the fourth quarter was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty and followed by a holding penalty, and the Patriots eventually settled for a field goal. Gronkowski was sidelined late by a groin injury.
But Brady had said after the debacle against Kansas City that the Patriots needed “to be better in a lot of areas, starting with our attitude and competitiveness” and he included himself in the criticism.
Much has been made of Brady’s “advanced” age. He turned 40 on Aug. 3, an age when most quarterbacks have long since hung up their helmets. (Perhaps you noticed the color commentator for the game was newly retired Tony Romo, who is three years younger than Brady.)
But Brady is a fanatic about his diet and workout routine, and his performance Sunday showed that one bad game was just that — one bad game. He erased any doubts of that on the first drive, going right at the Saints as he moved the Patriots 75 yards in 10 plays. He threw to four different receivers and converted two third downs before connecting with Rex Burkhead on a 19-yard scoring pass.
It was the second drive, though, that ought to put the rest of the league on notice. Facing third-and-6 from his own 47, Brady held the ball for what seemed like forever. With the pocket all but gone, he finally spotted Gronkowski open down the right sideline and let fly.
Gronkowski, who had just two catches against Kansas City, his first game since Nov. 27, shook off one defender who tried to drag him down by his ankle and strolled into the end zone. It was his first touchdown since Oct. 30.
There will come a day when the game has passed Brady by, when he and the Patriots no longer rule the NFL. That day isn’t here yet, though. With the way Brady played Sunday, it doesn’t look as if it’s anywhere close.