Few questions remain about Tom Brady and the Patriots’ dominance
COMMENTARY
It was about what you expected, but no less enjoyable for lacking surprise.
The New England Patriots walloped the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, 51-17, on Sunday, a day that included quarterback Tom Brady’s 400th career touchdown pass, an impressive ground attack, and a boisterous confidence that Bill Belichick’s team, headed into an early bye week, is destined for greatness in 2015.
Oh, there’s a long road ahead, and these were still the Jaguars, an NFL-caliber team in the same way that a tomato is technically a fruit. But it’s hard to criticize much with the Patriots’ approach other than that they should have commanded a much larger lead than the 20-3 advantage they held at halftime after watching a handful of drives fall short of the end zone.
Whatever. New England has still scored 119 points in its first three games, and has established itself as the early favorite in the AFC, despite all the hoopla that enveloped the franchise during the offseason. The Baltimore Ravens are 0-3 after a 28-24 loss Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals, who matched the Patriots’ 3-0 mark, but with a history that makes playoff disappointment seemingly inevitable. The Indianapolis Colts squeaked out a 35-33 win over the Tennessee Titans, their first victory of the season, and seemingly still have a long way to becoming a well-oiled machine.
Maybe, despite all the pronouncements of their demise, the Denver Broncos, whose impressive defense smothered the Detroit Lions, 24-12, Sunday night, are indeed the Patriots’ toughest competition in the conference. It won’t be the Jets (24-17 losers to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday). It’s doubtful it’s the San Diego Chargers (31-12 losers to the Vikings).
Pittsburgh (12-6 winners over the St. Louis Rams)? Not without Ben Roethlisberger, who’s expected to miss at least four weeks after injuring his knee on a hit by Rams safety Mark Barron. Or maybe it’s the Kansas City Chiefs, who play the Green Bay Packers Monday night. How’s that Alex Smith-Tom Brady tale of the tape working out?
So while it may have only been the doorstop Jaguars this weekend, the perfect Patriots could consider the blowout a microcosm of their season to come. The more dominant the Patriots look behind Brady, the less threatening the rest of their 2015 schedule seems.
There is, quite simply, no other team quite on the same level as the New England Patriots, and the rest of the league knows it all too well.
“It was a good day, it was fun to be out there,’’ Brady said after joining Brett Favre, Dan Marino, and Peyton Manning as the only gunslingers to toss 400 touchdown passes. “It was a good performance by our offense. Good team win.’’
What made the day even more encouraging was the performance of the running game, not to mention a defensive unit that had found itself the weakest link after the season’s first two weeks. LeGarrette Blount (78 yards, three touchdowns) and Dion Lewis (37 yards, one touchdown) combined for an impressive attack without stealing the spotlight away from tight end Rob Gronkowski (101 yards receiving) or wide receiver Julian Edelman (85 yards).
As for No. 400, if you were gambling on either of the latter pair to be on the receiving end with even odds, you lost out when it went to Danny Amendola, who…promptly dished the ball out to a fan in the stands at Gillette Stadium.
“I don’t care,’’ Brady said with a laugh after a game that also featured touchdown pass No. 401. “It was just a ball.’’
Same for the season. What a ball it has been.
We don’t have to remind you that a year ago at this time, the eventual Super Bowl champions were only 2-1, coming off a vastly unimpressive, 16-9 win over the Oakland Raiders, and on the doorstep of a 41-14 game-changer at Kansas City a week later. Some…(ahem)…even suggested after that game that Brady’s window for another title with the Patriots was closed, and that there was some reason for discussing giving the reins to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Since then, Brady has started and finished one game — ONE — that the Patriots haven’t won, the 26-21 loss at Green Bay last November we all presumed might be a Super Bowl preview.
There’s little that hasn’t been said or written about Brady’s Hall of Fame career, but what the quarterback has managed to do over the past year can officially be stacked alongside his most impressive accomplishments. Now at the age of 38, he in no way resembles the player who appeared to have lost a step over the past few years. He hardly looks like the guy who was outwardly frustrated with the way things began in 2014, when he was finding the turf more than the end zone thanks to a porous offensive line.
In 2015, Brady is cementing his legacy, even as the NFL has tried to deny him his reputation.
Bummer there’s a bye week on the horizon. This tour of dominance, with Brady as ringleader, is just beginning to get fascinating.
“I’ve just tried to improve things over the years and just be efficient at what my job is,’’ Brady said, “and try to go out there and do the best that I can do for our team.’’
Yeah, it’s just the Jaguars. But we might as well say the same for any opponent on the schedule of the New England Patriots’ Imperial March of 2015.
“Hopefully now we can take advantage of a little bit of extra time this week and work on some of the things that we still need to improve and keep improving on and be ready to go down to Dallas in a couple weeks,’’ Belichick said.
Consider it a one-week vacation.
For the rest of the NFL.
Photos from the Patriots’ win over the Jaguars
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