Tom Brady owns more records and history-making marks than most NFL footballers can dream of, but one that has consistently eluded the veteran New England Patriot quarterback is the 1,000-yard rush mark.
Before Patriots beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-10 on Sunday to make winners of the “under” punters and retain their top spot in the AFC East Division, Brady could boast of having helped the Patriots win five Super Bowls, of owning the all-time mark for passing yards and of having three MVPs.
But he had never managed to join the 1,000-yard rusher-club
“I’ve kind of inched along there for a long time,” he told reporters before the game, “But it really hasn’t been a part of my game.”
The longest run of the 41-year-old Brady’s 19-season career was the 22 yards he made in 2006.
He had accumulated 995 yards with 577 rushes for an average of 1.7 yards per carry when he ran out to play the Vikings on Sunday.
Then finally, in his 264th career game, Brady did it with a 5-yard scramble for a first down on a third-and-3 play in the first quarter.
And guess what. The man hadn’t finished accumulating records – or at least in grabbing a share of yet another.
He did just that in the third quarter on Sunday, when threw his 579th touchdown pass (regular season and playoffs) to tie Peyton Manning for the all-time NFL record.
Brady is still 31 touchdown passes short of Manning’s all-time regular-season mark (539) and right now New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (518) seems likely to get there first – or had seemed to be until Thursday.
Punters might not be so sure of backing Brees now after the way the Dallas Cowboys’ tight and aggressive defense tied him down when Dallas stunned the Saints 13-10 in a low-scoring game (the ‘under’ punters were also clear winners here)
Saints Strong
The Saints are still strongly placed to win the NFC South division, but this upset defeat may have gifted the Los Angeles Rams with the top seeding for the Super Bowl.
In a season when Brees, Brady and a number of other quarterbacks have been making hay, the game may also have highlighted the fact that defense can still matter.
“We’re a physical team,” Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys running back, told the league-owned NFL Network after his team’s victory, “We run and we hit.”
Rams fans, meanwhile, had plenty of reason to celebrate as their rampant heroes stormed to their 11th victory in 12 games with a convincing 30-16 victory over the Detroit Lions.
For, in doing so, they not only became the NFL’s first team to qualify for the post-season, but they also set themselves up with a strong chance of getting that coveted top playoff seed and a wildcard weekend bye.
Of the 14 Week-13 matches played so far, 9 have won the ‘under’ punters money. Only five were ‘over’s’.
Week 13 matches still to be played are those between the Los Angeles Chargers (8-3) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3-1) tonight, Monday (Odds: PS -3.5, o/u 55.5) and between the Washington Redskins (6-5) and the Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) on Tuesday (Odds: PE -7, o/u 44).
In the meantime here are the scores of all other Week 13 games with their updated win-loss-tie match records and pre-game over and under odds).
WEEK 13 SCORES
New Orleans Saints (10-2) lost to Dallas Cowboys (7-5) 13-10 (o/u odds 52.5)
Los Angeles Rams (11-1) beat Detroit Lions (4-8) 30-16 (o/u odds 55) Baltimore Ravens (7-5) beat Atlanta Falcons (4-8) 26-16 (o/u odds 48) Denver Broncos (6-6) beat Cincinnati Bengals (5-7) 24-10 ( o/u odds 44) Green Bay Packers (4-6-1) lost to Arizona Cardinals (3-10) 20-17 (o/u odds 44.5) Cleveland Browns (4-7-1) lost to Houston Texans (9-3) 29-13 (o/u odds 48) Indianapolis Colts (6-6) lost to Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8) 6-0 (o/u odds 47.5)
Buffalo Bills (4-8) lost to Miami Dolphins (6-6) 21-17 (o/u odds 40) Chicago Bears (8-4) lost to New York Giants (4-8) 27-30 (o/u odds 54.5) Carolina Panthers (6-6) lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7) 24-7 (o/u odds 54.5) Kansas City Chiefs (10-2) beat Oakland Raiders (2-10) 40-34 (o/u odds 55.5) New York Jets (3-9) lost to Tennessee Titans (6-6) 26-22 (o/u odds 40.5) Arizona Cardinals (2-9) beat Green Bay Packers (4-6-1) 20-17 (o/u odds 44.5)