Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got hit a fair amount during Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, but that didn’t cause head coach Bill Belichick to think about taking Brady out of the game when the Patriots were up 18 points in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots took that lead into the quarter and then regained it on Brady’s fourth touchdown pass with 6:31 left to play. Brady remained in for three handoffs and three kneeldowns before time ran out on the game and Belichick was asked at his press conference whether there was thought to taking him out.
“No. I mean it’s easy for you to sit there and say the game is out of hand,” Belichick said. “I mean, if you watch games in the National Football League, a lot can change in a hurry. The only time I think the game is in hand is when they’re not going to have enough possessions to get the number of points that they need. Sorry, we just see that one totally differently.”
Brady said that he “definitely took some shots” and that the Dolphins have an “aggressive defense,” but there wasn’t really a point where it would have made sense to pull him without jeopardizing the game. The Patriots turned the ball over on downs to open the fourth quarter and the Dolphins cut the lead to 11 points on their next drive. By the time New England got the ball back after going up 18, there wasn’t much risk in having Brady hand the ball off .