Patriots Troy Brown Reveals Favorite Tom Brady Moment: Dooming Dolphins
Life was a beach for former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ... though he certainly got by with a little help on the way.
One of those assistants, Patriots receiver Troy Brown, collaborated with the team to say farewell to the legendary quarterback after he ended his 23-year NFL career last Wednesday. In addition to his farewell, Brown was asked for his favorite Brady memory. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brown himself played a role in his selection, choosing their 82-yard overtime collaboration during an October 2003 visit to Miami.
At that time, New England had dropped six consecutive contests in South Beach and six of their last eight overall in the long-running AFC East rivalry. Brown and Brady ended the futility in style: immediately after Tyrone Poole intercepted a Jay Fiedler throw at the 18-year-line, the offensive pair wasted no time in taking advantage, going the distance with one throw-and-catch on the very next play to secure a 19-13 win in walk-off fashion.
Brown seemed apprehensive about only picking one favorite play ... "there's quite a lot of them," he remarked ... but dooming the Dolphins had an extra sense of sweetness.
"I think the one that comes to everybody's mind is the 82-yard bomb in Miami," Brown said in a video from the Patriots. "(It was) to finally beat those guys in Miami and end the game on an 82-yard bomb from Tom Brady."
While Miami has taken advantage of Brady's departure (going 4-2 against the Patriots since he ventured to Tampa Bay in 2020), it did change the course of the matchup: that sudden-death victory started a streak where the Patriots went 23-11 against the Dolphins for the rest of Brady's term.
Brown, now New England's receivers and kick returners coach, was one of the longest-lasting Patriots from the pre-Brady era, leaving his mark on the team with career marks earned over a 15-year career (1993-2007) spent entirely in Foxboro (556 receptions, 6,366 yards, 31 receiving touchdowns). Having won three Super Bowls with Brady (2001, 2003, 2004) and partaking in another before he arrived in Massachusetts 1997), Brown remains one of the most cherished figures in Patriots history.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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