It wasn't exactly a pretty game for the New England Patriots but quarterback Tom Brady and crew stepped up at the last minute to pull out a 20-16 win Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. It was the 20th-consecutive win for the Patriots at Gillette Stadium and the 31st-consecutive home win for Brady.
The game was relatively close for the duration with each team adding only one touchdown in the first half. Dallas also had a field goal while New England has to for a 13-10 lead going into the half.
The Cowboys took the 16-13 lead late in the fourth, leaving Tom Brady just 2:31 to engineer a game-winning touchdown drive. For many, that would have been a challenge but Brady executed like a surgeon, completing 8-of-9 passes for 80 yards to connect with tight end Aaron Hernandez for the score.
Overall on the night, Brady completed 27-of-41 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His counterpart, Tony Romo, had similar numbers with 27-of-41 completions, 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The victory may have been just another usual victory by Brady and his bunch but it was the 32nd successful late-game comeback for the passer and completed against one of the strongest defenses in the league.
The win also put the duo of Brady and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick into the history books to tie a Super Bowl-era for wins by a coach-quarterback tandem. This was victory number 116 for the pair, the same number completed by Dan Marino and Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins between 1983 and 1995.
While Brady and Belichick are sure to break that record soon, they'll have to wait a week before they get the opportunity. The Patriots have their bye week coming up then travel to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 30, 2011.
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