Young quarterbacks have always had a tough time winning at Gillette Stadium during the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era.
Add Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the list.
The Patriots on Sunday had their best offensive night of the season, amassing 500 total yards while getting another clutch performance from Brady, their surefire Hall of Fame quarterback, in a 43-40 win over the Chiefs.
Photo: AFP
Brady passed for 340 yards and a touchdown, while running for another score and helped set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard, game-winning field goal as New England held off a frantic second-half rally by the Chiefs.
New England’s third straight win was Brady’s 200th victory as a starting quarterback. He also passed former teammate Adam Vinatieri for most career wins in the regular season and playoffs combined with 227.
“I think we have a lot of clutch players,” Brady said. “I think we have no problem grinding it out. That’s what the football season’s all about. I don’t think we’ve seen our best. I think we can play a lot better and I think that’s what we plan to do.”
The Patriots have now won three straight games since starting the season 1-2 and, at least offensively, they seem to be finding a groove following a slow start that included lopsided losses to Jacksonville and Detroit.
New England have scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games.
It was the first blemish of the season for the Chiefs (5-1) and the first loss as a starter for Kansas City’s 23-year-old quarterback Mahomes, who started the game slowly before rallying his team from a 15-point, first-half deficit to take a late lead.
He threw a pair of early interceptions, but regained confidence down the stretch leading touchdown drives with the same improbable plays he has been pulling off all season.
He kept quieting a nervous New England crowd.
The Chiefs tied the game at 40-40 via Mahomes’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill, but they left too much time on the clock for Brady, who marched his team down the field to set up the eventual winning kick.
“They had a good game plan,” Mahomes said.
“They threw a lot of pressure at us, a lot of different, and I just tried to stay within myself. I missed some throws even when there was pressure that we could have scored on, and I feel like as the game went on I just kept making the reads and throwing the ball and I started connecting on the ones later,” he said.
The Chiefs imploded with Alex Smith under center last season, losing six of their final 11 after a 5-0 start, but tight end Travis Kelce said he feels like this team has lots of room to grow and has a different mentality than it did this time last season.
“You got to love the way the team fought,” Kelce said.
“It is crappy losing and nobody likes to lose,” he said. “It is unfortunate that the team that ended up with the ball won. It is something to learn from and you have to start fast.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and