Ten plays later, they were in the end zone, 20-16 victors. If we all hadn’t seen it many times before, we might ask where that came from.
But we all have seen it many times before. We’ve been watching Tom Brady do what the great ones do for 10 years, which doesn’t mean it’s any less exciting to witness.
It mattered not that the four previous Patriots second-half possessions had gone punt, fumble, interception (a truly bad Brady play, one you’d have to call a “Romo’’), and, finally, punt capping a three-and-out.
On the winning drive, Brady was 8 for 9, completing passes to four receivers. The winner was an 8-yard TD pass to Aaron Hernandez. The 10 plays consumed a mere 2:09 on the clock, and the entire drive looked ridiculously easy, which we all know it wasn’t.
Bill Belichick was on message, as usual. It’s always going to be about the team.
“I think we just did a good job all the way around,’’ Coach Bill said. “Tom did a good job. We got good protection. Our receivers caught the ball, broke some tackles, got open. They pressured us at the end and they’ve got some really good pass rushers and we were able to block them long enough to make plays.’’
All true, of course, but the major reason the Patriots went home smiling was Brady. You think it doesn’t bolster the confidence of every person in that huddle, knowing that they had Brady making decisions and delivering the ball in a game-deciding situation? Oh, sure, he’s failed on occasion, but it’s always a shock when he does. What the world saw yesterday was Tom being Tom.
Asked if he lives for these moments, Brady took a pass.
“I prefer to be up four touchdowns with two minutes left,’’ he said.
No one would have complained if the Patriots had merely come up with a tying field goal. The Rob Ryan-devised Cowboys defense had come as advertised, holding the Patriots far under 30 points for the first time since the last time they faced a Rob Ryan-devised defense, a 34-14 walloping at the hands of the Browns last Nov. 7.
