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11.05.18

5 Things We Loved About the Patriots 31-17 Win Over the Packers

Posted by: Gronkowski

The battle between the greatest quarterbacks in the league turned into a spectacular 31-17 victory for the Patriots as they turned the Packers into cream cheese.

Sunday night at Gillette showcased all the best aspects of Boston sports – from the jubilant Red Sox armed with the World Series trophy to genius trick plays from Bill Belichick turning Edelman into a QB, Brady into a blocker and a wide receiver into a running back.

Hell, even Belichick had high praise for his team after the Pats had improved their record to 7-2. “I’m pretty proud of the team today. I thought we competed hard. Green Bay’s a good football team,” he told reporters. “We talked all week about how difficult they are to prepare for, to play against, and they were. They certainly gave us a number of problems in a number of areas, but we battled through it.”

With about 69 to choose from, here are our five favorite moments from Pats vs. Packers:

Sox in the House
A week after they secured their fourth championship in Dodgers Stadium, the Sox got the VIP treatment at Gillette as Alex Cora, Andy Barkett, Joe Kelly, Ryan Brasier, Steve Pearce, Brock Holt, J.D. Martinez and John Henry rolled onto the field in a Duck Boat to the sound of “Dirty Water.” They then ripped off their Sox shirts male-stripper style to reveal customized Patriots jerseys. 

Edelman to White
Don’t tell us you weren’t nervous when the game was tied 17 in the fourth quarter. We definitely were, until Edelman gave us a quintessential “WTF?!?” moment with a trick play throwing to James White to pick up 37 yards and put New England at the 2-yard line, in position for the go-ahead touchdown. And the Packers didn’t see the lead again …

“It’s always nice to throw a pass,” Edelman said after the game. “I’m just mad that James [White] didn’t get in. I would’ve had a better stat line. I definitely felt the crowd get fired up after that.”

Jules has had two other NFL pass attempts, going 1-of-2 with a touchdown to Danny Amendola in the playoffs against the Ravens. 

Brady Becomes a Lead Blocker
Setting up the Edels-White magic, Brady ended up sprinting downfield to block after throwing a screen pass to the former Kent State QB.

“You get out in space, I have no idea what the hell’s going on,” Brady later said. “I don’t know what’s illegal to hit or dive or cut. I thought, ‘No way the ball is getting to me.’ And next thing you know, James is running by me and I said, ‘S---,’ just as he’s running by me because I probably could have made a play to get him a touchdown, but you live and you learn.”

Josh Gordon Makes a 55-Yard Touchdown … After Dislocating Finger 
Nothing was going to stop Josh Gordon Sunday night, not even having to pop in a dislocated finger. 

The Pats’ newest wide receiver finished the night with five catches, 130 yards and one TD despite having to leave the game twice.

"I guess it's like a freak accident, nothing too crazy," Gordon said following his best performance since joining the team. "One of the slant routes, I think some pressure fell on it and it dislocated, so I popped it back into place a couple of times during the game. It's fine."

Cordarrelle Patterson Is a Shapeshifter
With Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead both out, Cordarrelle Patterson did his best impersonation of a running back carrying the ball 11 times for 61 yards with one touchdown against Green Bay, averaging 3.54 yards after contact per carry, according to Pro Football Focus. 

“He’s worked really hard with the ball-handling, the reads, but boy, he runs hard,” Belichick said. “He runs fast and he’s a hard guy to tackle, so he’s done a great job for us. He gave us some important carries and some big yards …

“He’s done a great job for us in a number of areas, doing different roles week to week, and the last couple of weeks carrying the ball and getting some tough yards for us,” Belichick said of his flexi-player, according to NESN. “The touchdown run was a good run. Like a lot of our guys have, they just step in, fill the role that we need for them and help the team win and that’s really what it’s all about. But yeah, he was tremendous.”

What tricks are Brady, Belichick and co. have up their sleeves when they head to Tennessee to play the Titans next week? We’ll have to wait to find out. 

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