Relive Tom Brady's Only Other Overtime Touchdown Pass
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is a thousand years old. He's accomplished everything there is to accomplish as an NFL quarterback. And then he's done it all again. His résumé is long enough to fill two CVS receipts, and the NFL's record books will one day soon be known simply as "Things Tom Brady Did."
That's why it's surprising -- if not downright shocking -- to realize that on Sunday evening when he threw a game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against Buffalo, Brady did something that he had only done once before in his 700-year NFL career.
This time, it was Brady hitting Breshad Perriman on a crossing route, allowing the receiver to make the catch in stride and bolt 58 yards for the game-winning score. It was Perriman's first catch of the game and just his fourth catch of the season, and it was a rather large one. It improved Brady to 33-3 against the Bills in his career.
Incredibly, despite having won 239 regular-season games prior to Sunday, and despite having won 34 playoff games, Brady had only thrown a touchdown in overtime once in his career.
Patriots fans will surely remember that one well, as it came in 2003 to end a wild back-and-forth game in Miami. Richard Seymour blocked one Olindo Mare field goal attempt late in regulation, Mare missed another kick off the Marlins' infield dirt in overtime, referee Gerry Austin confused his head from his tails, and the game had hearts pounding up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Miami looked to be in position to get one more crack at a game-winning kick, but Tyrone Poole picked off Jay Fiedler at the New England 18-yard line to kill that Dolphins drive.
Tired of the mayhem, Brady and Troy Brown put an end to it all with one of the dandiest plays of both players' careers. Thanks to the NFL Throwback Twitter account, we can all see it again one more time today:
That was something.
In his career in overtime in the regular season, Brady has completed 38 of his 58 passes (65.5 percent) for 487 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Brady has also played in three rather high-profile playoff games that went to overtime: the Snow Bowl, Super Bowl LI, and the 2018 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots won all three of those, with Brady going a ridiculous 17-for-23 (73.9%) for 155 yards in those three games.
He's done some winning in his day. But only twice has he capped a victory with a walk-off touchdown in overtime. That makes sense, because players don't play in too many OT games, and not many of those OT games end in touchdowns, and the new rules that keep games alive after an opening possession field goal are only a few years old. But! Nevertheless! For the winningest QB in history, it is a rather interesting nugget in The Never-Ending Tale of Tom.