Josh Gordon Helps Tom Brady Make History With TD Pass, As QB Shows Great Trust In Receiver
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The touchdown pass that Tom Brady threw to Josh Gordon in the quarter of Thursday night's 38-24 win over the Colts was a fairly significant one, for a multitude of reasons.
First and foremost, it gave the Patriots a 14-point lead, after the Colts had been clawing back into the football game. The touchdown from Gordon gave the Patriots all the cushion they'd need.
Secondly, it put Brady in the record books, as Gordon became the 71st different receiver to catch a touchdown from Brady. That's the most of all time. It also gave Brady the 500th touchdown of his career, making Brady just the third quarterback to ever reach that mark.
That was all well and good, but almost more importantly than any of that, the touchdown showed that Brady can put a lot of trust in Josh Gordon.
Though they've only been teammates for a little over two weeks, and though they haven't even had many real practices together, Brady showed something with his 34-yard heave to Gordon in double coverage.
He showed that he trust the new guy.
"That was a great play Josh made, jumping over the top of two defenders. That tells you the kind of confidence I have in a really short period of time [together]," Brady said. "You know, he's earned it and happy to see him make that play."
The 27-year-old Gordon now has four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown in his two games with New England. Gordon, who was swarmed by teammates after the touchdown, said after the victory that all he and Brady needed was a brief moment of eye contact to make that touchdown work.
"I think after seeing the rush, him get out of the pocket, just kind of goes to sandlot football scramble drill -- you know, go the opposite direction of what you were going," Gordon said. "And I kind of wanted to head towards the end zone, and we made eye contact, he threw it up there and it was a perfect ball. So, I had to try to make a play on it, and that was pretty much it."
Of course, no story about Gordon would be complete without mentioning the off-field issues that ultimately led to the Browns giving up on him and making him available. That part of the equation may never be fully settled. But so far through two weeks, Gordon in New England has worked out. And the receiver is hoping it lasts.
"To catch any pass from Tom is amazing, let alone some history-making catch or pass. You know, for him, I told him congratulations, and I know there's many more for him to come," Gordon said. "Hopefully, he's got a lot more left in him -- I'm pretty sure he does -- so I'm looking forward to that. The next history point to make for him, I hope to be a part of it. So, it was awesome."
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.