FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that QB Tom Brady has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week by the National Football League for his performance in the Patriots' 25-24 comeback victory over the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. It is the 13th time in his career that Brady has earned the AFC Player of the Week honor.
Brady completed 39 of 53 pass attempts for 378 yards and two touchdowns. Brady led the Patriots to victory following a fourth-quarter deficit or tie for the 29th time in his career, as the Patriots rallied to a 25-24 win after trailing 24-13 with 5:32 remaining. On the Patriots' final two scoring drives, Brady completed 11-of-13 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He had an 18-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson with 2:10 remaining to cap off an 11-play, 81-yard drive and cut the deficit to 24-19. After the Patriots recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Brady directed a three-play, 31-yard drive that ended in a 16-yard scoring toss to Watson and a 25-24 Patriots' lead. The Patriots' comeback against the Bills came following a deficit remarkably similar to their 27-24 comeback win against the Dolphins on Dec. 29, 2002 - in that game they trailed 24-13 with 4:59 remaining in the contest and also came back for the victory.
Brady's 39 completions against Buffalo are the most in his career in a non-overtime game and tie his overall career high. He also had 39 completions against Kansas City on Sept. 22, 2002 in a 41-38 overtime win at Gillette Stadium. His 378 yards are his fifth-highest single-game career total, trailing his career-best 410 yards in that same 2002 contest against Kansas City. Brady's 53 attempts against Buffalo tonight tie his sixth-highest single-game career total, trailing his career-best of 55 attempts (11/10/02 and 9/24/06).
