HOUSTON -- In a few ways, yesterday was a very un-Brady day.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got picked off in the red zone in the first half. Rare. In the second half, as he was being sacked, he tried to force a throw and wound up fumbling. Also rare.
But in the end, he directed a game-tying 80-yard drive and forced overtime with a fourth-down touchdown pass, then helped seal the win by putting the Patriots in position for Adam Vinatieri's 28-yard game-winner.
That was more like it.
Brady finished the day against the Texans 29 for 47 for 368 yards. He had two touchdowns -- a 4-yarder to Daniel Graham and a 27-yarder to Bethel Johnson -- and two interceptions. The first interception came on a third-and-5 play from the Houston 10. Brady tried to force a pass and Eric Brown stepped in and picked it off. Luckily for the Patriots, Johnson was there to jar the ball loose during the return and recover it. The Pats actually gained 3 yards and settled for a field goal.
The other pick came on third-and-10 in the third when Brady was hammered in the ribs by linebacker Shantee Orr as he released and the ball went offline to cornerback Marcus Coleman. That turnover led to a Texans touchdown. His fumble in the fourth looked like a killer. As linebacker Kailee Wong was hauling him down, Brady got his arm loose and tried to throw but the ball flipped out on the windup and Houston's Jay Foreman scooped it and took it to the New England 31 setting up another Houston score.
But eventually, he atoned.
"Tom's always been great at the end of games," said head coach Bill Belichick. "He's a good decision maker. He made some really key throws under pressure, scrambled around there taking big hits on the 30-yarder to Graham (early in the game-tying drive). He really did a good job."
"I don't think I was in a funk," said Brady who's now 31-12 as a starter (34-12 including playoffs). "I thought I was really focused today. Some times are better than others, I guess."
Even though the Patriots were without Troy Brown Brady and the offense moved well through the air, which is testament to work done in practice and in the film room.
"As a quarterback, normally it would be a really big deal if those guys were out, but I feel so comfortable with (newcomers Dedric Ward and J.J. Stokes at wide receiver)," he said "I'd love to have Troy and David Patten and David Givens. But we don't. But Dedric made some big plays. J.J. made some big plays."
Hitting play book pays off
As for Stokes, signed Tuesday by the Patriots, he had a key 33-yard reception in the first half.
"This week's been a whirlwind," he admitted. "I took every opportunity to study my playbook, every chance I had. I was thankful that (wide receivers coach) Brian Daboll was able to work with me all week long like a quarterback saying (plays) in the huddle and it paid off. I didn't have any mistakes lining up or being where I wasn't supposed to be."
Brown made the trip to Houston but was inactive. Asked if he was close to playing yesterday, he said, "I'm always close."
Among the missing were . . .
In addition to Brown and Givens being down, other Patriots inactive yesterday were defensive back Antwan Harris, offensive lineman Wilbert Brown, tight end Fred Baxter, and defensive linemen Rick Lyle and Anthony Pleasant . . . . Chris Akins, who had such a nice year on special teams,went out with a leg injury but said after the game that he should be fine. . . . Joe Andruzzi spent some time on the sidelines as well and was replaced at right guard by Russ Hochstein , t he returned for the end of the game. . . . The Patriots had an outstanding goal-line stand in the first quarter, forcing Houston to settle for a 19-yard field goal after they had first-and-goal at the 1. . . . Richard Seymour had another disruptive day on the defensive line. . . . Tony Banks had 7 yards passing by halftime and the Texans had 65 total yards. . . . Even though it was close, the Pats stretch of winning when leading at halftime is now at 16 games.
