Winning in the NFL is tough, no matter the opponent. Beating a divisional rival, who probably knows you better than other teams, on the road is arguably even harder. Consequently, the New England Patriots appeared to be rather happy after their 22-17 victory over the New York Jets.
As usual after a win, the Patriots’ media department was granted locker room access following the game – and quarterback Tom Brady summed up the feelings when talking to Robert and Jonathan Kraft: "Good game, huh? That was hard."
Head coach Bill Belichick echoed this sentiment in his post-game speech.
Great job. I mean, we’ve played seven minutes of really good football there at the end. A lot of good situation football; complimentary offense, defense, special teams. I mean, that’s the way we’ve got to play. That’s a great job winning a division game on the road, which is always tough down here. Nice job.
Belichick then gave the team a day off on Monday before defensive captain Devin McCourty, filling in for an injured Matthew Slater, broke down the team huddle. Before doing that, however, he acknowledged quarterback Tom Brady tying the all-time NFL record for wins by a quarterback.
Brady won his 200th start against the Jets as McCourty pointed out. But Brady deflected the praise back on his teammates:
It’s ‘cause of you guys.
And because of Brady and the guys coming through in the clutch, the Patriots are now 9-2. How do we feel about that? Awwwww yeaaaaahhh.