Tom Brady said he suffered a ‘new’ elbow injury Saturday
"This is a new injury, this isn't the old elbow."
Not even injuries could wear the Patriots down.
In an electric game, the Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills, 24-17, to clinch their 11th straight AFC East division title Saturday. All season, the Patriots have been criticized for their struggling offense. Brady, who has been listed on the team’s injury report with an elbow injury several times this season, and who last week was reported to have been dealing with a case of “tennis elbow”, has struggled with his throwing accuracy and timing, leaving some to feel like he’s “a shell of his former self.”
Although he appeared calm and upbeat in Saturday’s postgame press conference, Brady addressed the media with an ice-pack wrapped around his throwing elbow. When asked about it, he jokingly-downplayed it’s severity but did admit that it is a new injury.
“I feel good, this is a new injury, this isn’t the old elbow,” he said to the media. “Thank you guys, appreciate your concern.”
Tom Brady with a big ice pack on his elbow pic.twitter.com/oWbVcxz3pH
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) December 22, 2019
Still, his elbow did not seem nag him too much, as Brady was 26-for-33 for 271 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions against the Bills. He said what helped carry the team offensively was finding a balance on the field and having everyone contribute.
“A good offense, everyone has to be able to produce,” he explained. “If you can get both tight ends involved and all receivers involved and all the backs [involved], it’s hard to defend. So, we just did a good job of that today and you got to make them defend everybody — a lot of guys came up big. It was a big game for us, we needed it, and happy to come from behind in the fourth and win.”
Brady also spoke highly of wide receiver Julian Edelman, who was listed as questionable leading up to the game with shoulder and knee injuries Edelman was active against the Bills, but suffered a hit in the third quarter that left him laying on the turf and then evaluated for a head injury. When he returned from the blue tent in the fourth quarter, he caught a pass from Brady and took it 30 yards, and then caught a two-point conversion with 5:06 left in the quarter to give the Patriots a 24-17 lead.
While Edelman, who finished with five catches for 72 yards, said he was “selling the hit”, it still looked like a tough blow. Many, including Brady, were happy to see him get back on the field.
“Yeah, he was running a slant and it was an unfortunate play,” said Brady. “But, glad he came back and made a big play, like he always does.”
Brady showed he’s still got some gas left in the tank, dishing out blocks for rookie wide reciever N’Keal Harry in the second quarter and adding to his arsenal of successful QB-sneaks by getting the Patriots to the two-yard line in the fourth.
The GOAT of QB sneaks. @TomBrady | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/h0jBOM4gsa
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 22, 2019
When asked if he felt an “extra reward” for proving critics wrong about the New England offense, Brady said he wasn’t putting too much thought into it.
“We knew we were going up against a pretty good defense and they played well, they’re hard to move the ball on,” he said. “I don’t think too many of us thought about the season much, it was really just one game and what we needed to do to try to move the ball and score points against a pretty good team.
“I think all those evaluations and stuff take place after the year and we’re just trying to grind our way through it — take care of business next week, try to win, it’s a playoff game for us next week [and if] we win we miss a week, which is a pretty good reward.”
He expressed those same sentiments when asked if the confidence and momentum from beating the Bills will carry over into the matchup against the Dolphins.
“We ran the ball good and effectively against a really good defense, so that’s always good. I think one game doesn’t always necessarily lead to the next. You just have to keep building week to week on some things that maybe we did good that worked out and the things that didn’t, you kind of move on from them but, we knew it was going to be a tough test.”
Still, he did bask in the win and earning yet another AFC East title.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Brady. “It’s pretty cool. It’s hard to do, a lot of effort and a lot of hard work and a lot of people are putting in day after day, sitting in these chairs and trying to do what’s right for the team. It’s a great reward, it’s a great step for us and it’s great to control the ability to do that, too. So, to win and know that you win the division is pretty cool. Happy for us, our team, our coaches, our families, our fans. I hope we can build on it and go play great next week.”
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