Patriots gridiron news: It’s not up for debate, Tom Brady is simply the greatest
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had some of his best games at Heinz Field, Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Steelers was certainly a memorable one.
The Pittsburgh Steelers did their best to limit the possessions by Tom Brady. But at the end, the New England Patriots quarterback got the ball enough times to lead his team to 10 points and ultimately a victory at Heinz Field.
With the team down 24-16 approaching the mid-way point of the fourth quarter, Brady led the team to a field goal by Stephen Gostkowski to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 24-19. The Patriots then got the ball back with 2:06 seconds left in the game and that’s when the magic happened.
In a 77-yard drive, Brady turned to top weapon Rob Gronkowski. The two connected three times for 69 yards on the drive and looked unstoppable in doing so. In his long career, it was yet another comeback, game-winning drive with the type of ending Brady and Patriots fans everywhere has become accustomed to witnessing.
"“That was great,” Brady said following the game. “It was a lot of fun. It was a great environment and a great team that we played that played really well. The weather conditions – it kind of rained the whole game. It was just one of those days where you go back and forth, you play right to the end and the ball bounces some weird ways. I’m glad it bounced our way today.”"
Brady did stand on the sidelines and watch another great quarterback make the necessary plays to get his team down the field and in position to win the game. At the end, Ben Roethlisberger tried to force a throw that Tom Brady may not have attempted.
The play ended in a game-ending interception, which clinched the AFC East for the New England Patriots and added another page to Brady’s long history as the greatest clutch quarterback of all time.
It was not a catch
While many fans and experts around the NFL will argue that the Steelers got screwed towards the end of the game when tight end Jesse James had a go ahead-touchdown called back with 28 seconds left, NFL officials did get the call back.
According to the rule, a player has to complete a catch by surviving the ground. While James did catch the ball, he lost control once he extended the ball over the plane and hitting the ground.
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Referee Tony Corrente explained the overturned touchdown following the game:
"“We were inside of two minutes and in order to have a completed pass, a receiver must survive going to the ground. In this case, he had control of the football but he was going to the ground. As he hit the ground, the ball began to roll and rotate and the ball hit the ground and that’s the end of it at that point.”"
From that explanation, it was clearly not a catch.
Good news for Rex Burkhead
The Patriots received slightly good news concerning the knee injury suffered by running back Rex Burkhead in the first drive of the second half.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, an initial test indicates that Burkhead did not suffer a torn ACL or any other major knee injury. He will still need an MRI, but the worst-case scenario is that Burkhead could miss a couple of games.
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Burkhead’s injury and status could mean an increased role by running back Mike Gillislee, who has been inactive for the past few weeks.