Record-setting day for Brady
Patriots QB becomes new NFL leader in yards passing in 27-13 win over Jets
Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and became the NFL’s career leader in total yards passing in regular-season and playoff games, leading the New England Patriots to a 27-13 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
Brady also reached 3,000 yards passing for the 16th straight season, tying Peyton Manning for second in NFL history behind Brett Favre’s 18. The New England quarterback surpassed the mark early in the fourth quarter with a 17-yard completion to a diving Josh Gordon.
Brady has 79,416 yards after going 20-of-31 for 283 yards in the victory that clinched the Patriots (8-3) their 18th straight season with a .500 record or better. That ranks second in NFL history to only Dallas, which had 21 in a row from 1965-85.
Brady had just one TD throw in his previous three games but connected with Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman against the AFC East-rival Jets (3-8). Rookie Sony Michel ran for a season-best 133 yards and a TD, and the Patriots had 216 yards rushing to improve to 3-3 on the road this season.
Coming off a 34-10 loss to Tennessee two weeks ago, the Patriots avoided their second two-game losing streak of the season – something the franchise hasn’t experienced since 2015. New England has won five straight in the series against New York and eight of the past nine.
With Jets rookie Sam Darnold out with a foot strain, 39-yearold backup Josh McCown got his second straight start – making this game the NFL’s secondoldest QB combo at 80 years, 258 days with 41-year-old Brady going for New England. Only Carolina’s Vinny Testaverde (44) and Green Bay’s Brett Favre (38) in 2007 are an older combination at 82 years, 44 days old.
Brady got the better of McCown in this one, though, even though it took until late in the second half for the Patriots to pull away.
Brady connected with Edelman for a 21-yard touchdown that put the Patriots ahead 20-13 with 1:52 left in the third quarter. The drive opened with a 27-yard reception by Chris Hogan, followed by a 27yard run by James White. After White was stopped for no gain, Brady found a wide-open Edelman, who ran through a tackle attempt by Jamal Adams and got into the end zone.
Michel added a one-yard touchdown run with 8:54 left, one play after a video review reversed his TD run because it was ruled his right knee was down before he reached the goal-line. The score put the Patriots up 27-13 and sent many Jets fans streaming toward the exits.
McCown was 26-of-45 for 276 yards and a touchdown to Jermaine Kearse with one interception for the Jets, who have lost five straight for the first time since the 2014 season.