Quick-hit thoughts on the Patriots’ 41-28 win against the Chargers: Tom Brady silenced the haters this weekend

All year long we’ve heard the same story. Tom Brady is going to be falling off the cliff this year. Tom Brady is regressing. Tom Brady is no longer an elite QB. Well, he shut everyone up this yesterday. In the biggest game of the season (so far), he did what he always does, which is carve up defenses and lead his team to victory.

From the moment the game against the Los Angeles Chargers started, you could tell that the 41-year old was feeling it. The New England Patriots scored touchdown on their first four drives, and, after recovering a muffed punt, quickly drove down and scored a fifth. The game was over at the half, and the Patriots completely demoralized the Chargers on both sides of the ball.

This game was about sending a message to the rest of the league that the Patriots are still here. Brady only finished with one touchdown pass, but that shouldn’t matter. He was a ridiculously efficient 34 of 44 for 343 yards. But I don’t care about stats. I care about what I see when I watch the game, and he made all the throws yesterday, and made them look easy.

He was locked in from the beginning, in fact, even before the game started, when they were coming out of the tunnel, I noticed it. Troy Brown opened the door to the locker room, and often times Brady will greet an ex-teammate, especially one he liked so much. He just blew right past him as if he wasn’t even there today though. To quote Brady, he had “Lazer Focus” today.

Yeah, this game was personal, and you heard it from the guys after the game. Brady, Julian Edelman, Devin McCourty, and others, were all talking about how they’ve been disrespected, and no one thinks they can win. Having that feeling can galvanize a locker room. Will it be enough to take down the Kansas City Chiefs on the road next week. Who knows? We’ll have plenty of time to talk about that this week though.

For now, let’s just enjoy the GOAT once again proving that he’s just better than everyone else, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Pat is the host of The Patriot Nation Podcast

Interact with him on Twitter @plane_pats