Tom Brady piloted the New England Patriots to a 26-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, his 201st NFL triumph, breaking the all-time record for wins by a quarterback.
“We’re in the locker room with a walking legend,” Patriots cornerback Malcom Butler said after Brady threw for one touchdown pass in the victory that took the Patriots to 10-2 for the season.
He broke out of a tie with retired Peyton Manning for No. 1 on the all-time wins list, including regular-season and post-season contests.
Photo: Greg M. Cooper-USA Today
“He has the most wins in quarterback history in the NFL, but he still comes to work like he hasn’t accomplished anything,” Butler said of Brady — who might have passed the milestone sooner, but for his four-game Deflategate suspension at the start of the season.
The record put Brady in the spotlight, but the Pats defense also came up big, holding the Rams to 25 yards of offense in the first half — the fewest yards ever allowed by New England in a half.
It was the kind of performance New England needed as they adjust to life without star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is to miss the rest of the season after back surgery.
LeGarrette Blount raced 43 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-one play on New England’s first possession.
Brady hit Chris Hogan with a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals.
Kansas City safety Eric Berry, riding on the emotion of his return to his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, produced a spectacular display that included a game-winning interception return in the Chiefs’ 29-28 victory over the Falcons.
Berry, who beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma, had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first half, then picked off an attempted conversion pass in the fourth quarter and raced 99 yards for what proved the deciding two points.
“The last time I came home during the season it was to get chemotherapy,” said Berry, who handed his touchdown ball to his mother in the stands. “This time it was to play a game, so I was thankful for the opportunity. I take pride in a lot of things people take for granted. I cherish everything that comes my way.”
The Dallas Cowboys — who notched their 11th straight win on Thursday — became the first team to clinch a playoff berth when National Football Conference East rivals the Washington Redskins dropped a 31-23 decision to the Arizona Cardinals, while the Seattle Seahawks demolished the Carolina Panthers 40-7.
Thomas Rawls rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns against a Panthers defense that came into the contest as the second-best in the league against the run.
Carolina’s night started with dressing-room drama, with quarterback Cam Newton benched for the opening play for violating the team’s dress code.
Backup Derek Anderson’s opening pass was intercepted to set up a Seahawks field goal on Seattle’s first possession — setting the tone for the rest of the game.
The Seahawks improved to 8-3-1, although their post-season hopes might have taken a hit when five-time Pro Bowl defender Earl Thomas broke his lower left leg in a second-quarter collision with teammate Kam Chancellor while breaking up a pass.
“A lot is running through my mind, including retirement,” Thomas tweeted.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but