Tom Brady leads Patriots in rushing for first time in career
Tom Brady is used to leading the Patriots’ offense, in all sorts of ways. But he had never led the team in rushing, until Sunday.
For the first time in his 16 NFL seasons, Brady led the Patriots with a team-high 15 rushing yards on a team-high four carries in New England’s 30-23 win over the New York Jets.
“I actually enjoyed this because it will probably never happen again,’’ he told reporters after game. “I just kind of rumbled toward the goal line, and it’s good when I have the threat of the ball in my hand because they’re not quite sure if they can go drill me or not.’’
Notably, Brady scored the Patriots’ first touchdown on a 1-yard sneak in the second quarter. A few plays earlier, he picked up a first down with an 11-yard scramble.
Against a Jets defense which had allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL entering the game, the Patriots attempted nine total rushing plays for 16 total yards. With Dion Lewis out with an abdominal injury, James White led the actual New England running backs with four yards on two carries. LeGarrette Blount finished with three carries for negative three yards.
“[The Jets] have a pretty good run defense,’’ Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “We felt like we had good matchups throwing the ball, so we tried to take advantage of those matchups. The runs that we ran, we didn’t get a lot out of.’’
With the Patriots relying more on Brady’s arm than anyone’s legs, he also threw 54 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
Tom Brady Career Timeline
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