Tom Brady ran for two touchdowns and notched another NFL passing milestone Thursday as the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants 35-14 to remain unbeaten this season.
Brady threw for 334 yards, and while he didn’t connect with a touchdown pass he passed now-retired Peyton Manning for second place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list.
Needing just 18 yards to overtake Manning’s career mark of 71,940, Brady passed his former rival on a 19-yard completion to running back Sony Michel.
Brady, with 72,257 passing yards, remains well behind New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who leads the all-time list with 74,845 – a total he will likely add to when he returns from a thumb injury this season.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and forced four turnovers, including a fumble they returned for a TD return for a score. They are 6-0 for the first time since 2015. “We grinded it out pretty good,” Brady said. “The defense played good, special teams played great. “I’m happy we won, happy to get to 6-0.”
New York’s rookie quarterback Daniel Jones completed 15 of 31 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions. Markus Golden returned a fumble by Brady for a 42-yard touchdown after Brady was sacked by Lorenzo Carter.
While the Pats offense continued to have its struggles, the defense came up with two scores, the first when a blocked punt was returned for a touchdown by rookie Chase Winovich for a 7-0 lead and the second when a Jon Hilliman fumble was corralled for a touchdown by Kyle Van Noy. All of the Patriots’ touchdowns came on one-yard runs - one to Brandon Bolden and two to Brady.
The Patriots led 14-0 when Jones connected with Golden Tate for a touchdown and Markus Golden’s fumble return for a touchdown with 4:38 left in the second quarter knotted the score at 14-14.
New England responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by Brady’s one-yard TD run to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
After a scoreless third period, New England’s Kyle Van Noy returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown, and Brady added one more touchdown plunge with less than four minutes to play.