54-10. During the month of December, Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady has a career record of 54-10. A remarkable achievement considering that time of the year is when teams are most desperate. On Sunday, Brady will likely pick up his 55th win against a team that is no stranger to losing to Tom Terrific, the Buffalo Bills. In fact, Brady defeats the Bills more often than any other team. He holds an absurd 26-3 record over the division rival.
“It’s so important,” Brady said on finishing the season on a high note. “I think Coach [Bill] Belichick said it best the other day. He said whether you’re 5-5 at this point or 10-0, it really depends on what we do going forward because I was here in 2001 when we were 5-5 and we ended up not losing a game after that.”
Last season, a loss in Week 10 to the Seahawks, dropping the Patriots to 7-2, turned out to be their last loss of the season. The Patriots cruised through December, going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents 113-39. This year, Brady and the Patriots will play their final five games during the month of December, four of which are divisional matchups. The other? A showdown with the 9-2 Steelers.
| Scor | Scor | Offe | Offe | Offe | Offe | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Day | Date | OT | Rec | Opp | Tm | Opp | 1stD | TotYd | PassY | RushY | ||||
| 13 | Sun | December 4 | 1:00PM ET | boxscore | W | 10-2 | Los Angeles Rams | 26 | 10 | 20 | 402 | 269 | 133 | ||
| 14 | Mon | December 12 | 8:30PM ET | boxscore | W | 11-2 | Baltimore Ravens | 30 | 23 | 20 | 496 | 401 | 95 | ||
| 15 | Sun | December 18 | 4:25PM ET | boxscore | W | 12-2 | @ | Denver Broncos | 16 | 3 | 20 | 313 | 177 | 136 | |
| 16 | Sat | December 24 | 1:00PM ET | boxscore | W | 13-2 | New York Jets | 41 | 3 | 21 | 325 | 211 | 114 |
Sitting at 9-2 as well, the Patriots have set themselves up nicely for the final month of the season. Although divisional games are never easy, the Patriots could run the table to the shock of no one. That would earn them the top overall seed and likely, another Super Bowl berth. However, it all starts with the Bills on Sunday and a chance to win yet another AFC East Divisional crown.
“A few years ago we were 10-0 and the season didn’t end very well,” Brady added. “I think so much of your season is dependent on how we’re going to do at this point moving forward. We put ourselves in a decent position but we’re going to have to go capitalize.”
Patriots fans and Mike Tomlin can look forward to Week 15 and beyond. The Patriots, on the other hand, are solely focused on the Bills. Much of that credit is rightfully given to Bill Belichick. However, Brady’s penchant for winning the most important games at the most crucial time of the year goes a long way as well.
– Ian Glendon is the Editor-In-Chief of Full Press Coverage and the AFC East Division Editor. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @iglen31 Follow @FPC_Patriots and Facebook.
