Tom Brady has seen his fair share of stupefying moments during his lengthy NFL career, but what played out in the final moments at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday had to be one of the wildest scenes the New England Patriots quarterback has ever witnessed.
The Miami Dolphins pulled off an unbelievable walk-off victory thanks to a last-second, double-lateral trick play that will forever be known as the “Miami Miracle.”
When it was all said and done, the Dolphins topped the Patriots by a score of 34-33, thereby extending New England’s continued struggles when playing in Miami.
All that said, Brady downplayed the bizarre nature of Sunday’s stunning setback, arguing that experiencing a defeat in such a manner in the end is still just a loss.
“We’ve had a lot of tough losses over the years,” Brady said Monday on WEEI. “We’ve lost some pretty important games. What’s the difference of losing by 14 (points) down there or losing by 50 or losing by one. They all count the same, and mental toughness is mental toughness. You’ve just got to realize that lots of things had to go right for them to win, and they did. Give them credit. They made some important plays. We’ve got a lot of football to play. There were a lot of positives from yesterday’s game that we’ve got to use going forward, and will use going forward. Our whole season is ahead of us. Let’s make the most of it.”
Brady also blamed himself Monday for a critical error at the end of the first half when he forgot how many timeouts the Patriots had left, ultimately costing the team at least three points.
Despite the last-second loss, New England (9-4) still boasts a two-game lead over the Dolphins (7-6) in the AFC East. While Sunday’s defeat was a brutal way to lose a game, the Patriots will simply chalk it up as a loss and move on to next Sunday, where a showdown with the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers looms.
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