New England Patriots QB Tom Brady has been a part of 39 comebacks in the fourth quarter, the second-most of all time (Peyton Manning holds the record at 45). There’s no shortage of impressive games to discuss.
Brady led the impressive comeback in the Tuck Rule game in his first season as a starter. He led comebacks against the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, and Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowls XXXVIII, XLIX, and LI. He led a fun comeback against the Buffalo Bills in his first game back from a torn ACL in 2009 and came back from a 26-14 deficit in the final 159 seconds against the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
Those are all amazing or important games, but there’s also plenty of video evidence for all of them.
One comeback that I always struggled to find highlights for was back in week 9 of 2003 when the Patriots were in Denver. With 3:06 left in the game, the Patriots trailed 24-23 and the Broncos had just pinned New England on their own 1-yard line.
Brady threw three straight incompletions and head coach Bill Belichick made one of the gutsiest moves you’ll ever see- he called for an intentional safety. This led the Patriots to fall behind 26-23 and punt the ball back to the Broncos, but it would allow the defense a chance to generate a stop and give the offense better field position.
P Ken Walter kicked off and forced the Broncos to their own 15-yard line and the defense held Denver to a three-and-out, keeping 2:15 left on the clock and saving one timeout to go with the two-minute warning, and getting the ball back on their own 42-yard line.
The Patriots didn’t need that timeout as Brady hit RB Kevin Faulk on three passes for 40 yards, moving to the Broncos 18-yard line, before hitting WR David Givens on a backshoulder throw in the front of the end zone. K Adam Vinatieri hit the extra point to give the Patriots a 30-26 lead and CB Asante Samuel intercepted Broncos QB Danny Kanell to end the game.
It was one of the most interesting moments of strategy in NFL history and it paid off for the Patriots. Click here to watch the video or click here to watch it on Facebook.