The New England Patriots are currently the No. 2 seed in the AFC, lead the AFC East, and will be returning to the postseason for the 11th consecutive season. However, by the heightened standards that have been bestowed upon the heralded Patriots over the years, 2019 has provided cause for concern, even with an 11-3 record.
Part of the reason for such a notion is that longtime Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had to adapt to the absence of key weapons on the perimeter. In the absence of future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots have become much more reliant on the team's wide receivers — some of which have been both unreliable and injured over the course of the 2019-20 regular season.
As it stands today, the aforementioned Brady is working with Phillip Dorsett, Julian Edelman, N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Mohamed Sanu at the wide receiver position. Of course, the Patriots previously employed current New York Jets wide out Demaryius Thomas and troubled pass catcher Antonio Brown, both of whom could be helping the team in a big way on the field at the moment.
With Edelman quickly becoming a the main focus for opposing defenses, it is now up to the rest of the team's wide receivers to pick up the slack for Brady. Although no one has really stood out for the Patriots this season, rookie pass catcher N'Keal Harry has continued to come through across the last few weeks and especially on Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was a good play by him. He adjusted,” Brady said of the first-year pass catcher, via Boston.com. “Kind of a little bit held in the pocket, he adjusted his route and then came back and found some space. It was a good play. We needed it. He’s fighting. He’s working hard every week to learn and he’s a very hard-working guy. It’s fun to see him make those plays.”
However, it is also worth noting that the aPatriots ging signal caller can be better going forward as well. Brady finished the team's 34-13 win over the lowly Bengals 15-of-29 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, the 42-year-old Brady has compiled 3,565 yards through the air alongside 21 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions and four fumbles. He has also completed 60.1 percent of his passing attempts this season in addition to producing three touchdowns via the ground game as well.
Brady currently ranks 28th out of 28 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating at 73.5 and yards per attempt at 5.59 since Week 9, according to Pro Football Focus.
On the other hand, Brady's two passing touchdowns against the Bengals officially moved him into sole possession of second place on the NFL’s all-time passing touchdowns list with 538. As a result of his most recent performance, the future Hall of Fame quarterback and six-time Super Bowl Champion passed longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees on the same list while he now sits only one touchdown behind former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and 539 career passing touchdowns.
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