Brady passes his way into history books

QUARTERBACK Tom Brady last night broke the NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception as the New England Patriots won the AFC East Division thanks to a resounding 34-3 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots have now secured a bye and home advantage in the play-offs and will host the Miami Dolphins next Sunday as they bid to secure an impressive 14-2 win-loss record.

Brady broke the mark of 308 attempts without losing possession previously set by Cleveland’s Bernie Kosar over the 1990-91 seasons with his 17th attempt in the third quarter.

Brady has thrown only four interceptions this season, his last coming nine games ago when he threw two in a 23-20 win over Baltimore on Oct. 17.

Their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets, lost a thriller at the Chicago Bears which secured the NFC North Division for the Bears. Jay Cutler inspired the Bears to a 38-34 victory at Soldier Field and they can now secure a top-two seeding and a play-off bye if they beat the Green Bay Packers next week.

The Jets, however, secured a wild card berth courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 20-17 overtime defeat at home to the Washington Redskins.

The Baltimore Ravens also clinched a play-off place with a 20-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns as Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw two touchdowns to wide receivers Derrick Mason and TJ Houshmandzadeh in Ohio.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in control of the AFC West after their 34-14 home win over the Tennessee Titans. The St Louis Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-17 in Missouri to maintain their grip on the below-par NFC West while the Detroit Lions beat the Miami Dolphins 34-27 in Florida.

Meanwhile, in the Christmas night action, two third-string quarterbacks were the unlikely stars in Arizona as the John Skelton-inspired Cardinals edged the Dallas Cowboys courtesy of some late drama.

Dallas had rallied from 18 points down to take a 26-24 lead when quarterback Stephen McGee, in his first ever NFL game, threw 37 yards to Miles Austin for a touchdown with 1:46 to play. But David Buehler’s extra point went wide and left, leaving the Cowboys vulnerable.

Arizona almost failed to capitalise after the kickoff, but Skelton, on fourth-and-15 from the Cardinals 19, threw 26 yards to Larry Fitzgerald, his only catch of the game. Then Skelton threw 19 yards to fellow rookie Max Komar.

Jay Feely’s 48-yard field goal inched over the crossbar with five seconds to play, giving the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys.

“I’m not feeling too good,” Buehler admitted afterwards. “I feel bad for Stephen. He drove the team down there and got the touchdown. You have to put them through the uprights. I think I just rushed it a little bit.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Carolina Panthers 27-3 on Thursday night while the Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, take on the Atlanta Falcons tonight in a crucial NFC South clash that could secure a bye and home advantage for the Falcons in the postseason. Snow forced the in-form Philadelphia Eagles to postpone their home clash against the Minnesota Vikings until tomorrow night.

* The remainder of this weekend’s NFL games will be covered in John Riordan’s regular blog at IrishExaminer.com