Tom Brady says he had just one rule for his clutch go-ahead touchdown throw, and the Patriots discuss it every week

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January 22, 2018 8:26 PM

In throwing to Danny Amendola in the end zone to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tom Brady wanted to put the ball high so that no defenders could reach it.

The New England Patriots overcame a 10-point deficit on Sunday to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and reach the Super Bowl.
Danny Amendola caught a high pass from Tom Brady in the back of the end zone to win the game.
On Monday, Brady said that the Patriots had discussed every week how to throw the ball in that situation and that Amendola knew where to go get it.

The New England Patriots stunned the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday by overcoming a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 24-20 and advance to the Super Bowl.

With about 2:50 left in the game, Tom Brady fired a high pass from the 10-yard line to Danny Amendola at the back of the end zone. Amendola completed the catch with an incredible toe-tap as he fell down to put the Patriots up for good.

While Amendola's catch was incredible, it apparently was part of the play's design. Brady explained on the "Kirk and Callahan" radio show on Monday that the Patriots routinely practiced and discussed throws to the back of the end zone, noting that he threw it high to keep it away from the defense.

"The thing about throwing the ball in the red area, you always want to throw the ball high on the back end line," Brady said. "You never want to throw the ball, obviously, to the middle of people's bodies when they're in the back of the end zone. So if you're going to err, you'd always rather err high because you're just never giving the defense a chance.

"We talk about high throws on the back end line every week, and I think those guys know where to expect it."

Brady credited Amendola with making the catch.

"The fact that Danny was as close as he was to the back line and made the catch — and had the awareness to get both feet down and then secure the catch in a way that left no doubt in people's mind — was incredible," Brady said. "He's got incredible hands, incredible body awareness and body control."

Here was the play:

The play may have even looked familiar to the Jaguars, who allowed Amendola to make a similar catch in 2015.

Jaguars have seen the exact... @ Steve Palazzolo

The Patriots preach preparation and discipline more than perhaps any team in the league, and their execution in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, with the Super Bowl on the line, showed how they put it into practice.

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