Tom Brady was kaput as New England’s quarterback. He was so used up at age 37 — especially after a 27-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 — that talk radio in Boston and beyond crackled with suggestions the Patriots should trade him.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were history too. They were so erratic during their 3-3 start that their offensive coordinator cringed when he was recognized in public.
In a testament to the wild unpredictability of the NFL, Brady is back to his record-breaking form and fresh off a 43-21 rout of the mighty Denver Broncos, and the Steelers have won three in a row, including blowouts of the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens in consecutive weeks.
While the doubters recede back into the shadows, the second half of the season has begun with some sense of familiar order restored: The Patriots and Steelers are once again among the league’s best teams.
Said Brady: It’s a lot of guys working hard who believe in each other, have confidence in each other and then when you get your one day a week to go out there, you go out there and you let it rip.
It wasn’t so long ago that some Patriots fans were letting it rip, airing their displeasure with the quarterback who has led the franchise to five of the past 13 Super Bowls.
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Scott Zolak, a former backup quarterback to Drew Bledsoe in New England and now a color analyst for the team’s flagship radio station, said the water-cooler chatter of trading Brady — perhaps to the Houston Texans for a first-round pick or two — was ridiculous.
I thought it was embarrassing, Zolak said. Reporters were asking [Coach] Bill Belichick, ‘Are you going to reevaluate your quarterback position this week?’… The sky was falling around here.