In perhaps the craziest four minutes of the NFL season, the New England Patriots have emerged victorious in a clash against the New Orleans Saints, 30-27.
After surrendering the lead on a Drew Brees to Kenny Stills 34 yard touchdown pass on a 3rd and 20 and then proceeding to turn the ball over twice, Tom Brady led the Patriots on a miraculous game winning drive. The Patriots maneuvered down the field with no timeouts and a 1:13 on the clock. The drive was capped with a 17 yard Kenbrell Thompkins touchdown catch with five seconds remaining.
The drive was a masterpiece, and was the highlight of a half in which the Patriots were pretty much begging to lose.
The Patriots got off to a strong 17-7 halftime lead, but once again went flat in the final 30 minutes.
The Patriots were able to get back to the no huddle offense. New England was able to run the ball well with Stevan Ridley, who picked up 96 yards and two touchdowns on twenty carries. Tom Brady was sharp in the first half, showing perhaps his best accuracy of the season. The balance was there, the tempo was there, things were looking up.
But then wheels came off in the second half.
The offense lost it's balance, Tom Brady was off target, the receivers were dropping passes, they couldn't finish drives and the defense was beginning to look worn down. After a Tom Brady interception to Keenan Lewis with just over two minutes remaining, it seemed like the game was lost.
But it all turned around in a heartbeat, and the Patriots pulled out a victory that will go down as one of the team's most exciting in recent memory.
There will be plenty to dissect from this game in the coming days. The Patriots really didn't do a lot well in the fourth quarter, and Bill Belichick had one of the more questionable coaching decisions of his Patriots tenure. The team also suffered a multitude of key injuries to the likes of Aqib Talib, Jerod Mayo, Dan Connolly, and Danny Amendola.
For now, we'll enjoy the improbable win. And oh yeah, the Patriots are 5-1.