Getty Julian Edelman.
It’s rare that someone other than Tom Brady throws a touchdown pass for the New England Patriots. But on Sunday against the Philadelphia-Eagles, it happened.
Julian Edelman, who has thrown four passes in the last two seasons and completed all of them, fired his first regular-season touchdown to Phillip Dorsett on a double-pass.
Edelman rolled out to the right, catching a backward pass from Brady before firing a perfect ball over the middle to a wide-open Phillip Dorsett. It was a major momentum swing in a game where the Patriots trailed and had yet to score a touchdown on offense.
Drafted by the Patriots out of Kent State, Edelman played quarterback for the Golden Flashes where he threw for almost 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons as a starter. Edelman has since transitioned to wide receiver for the NFL but has been given the chance to air one out on a rare occasion and has been perfect thus far when doing so.
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Five Years Later…
Edelman has thrown one other touchdown pass in the NFL, and that came in the postseason during the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX run. Trailing 28-21 at home against the Baltimore Ravens and in need of a spark, Edelman provided one in the biggest way.
In between the Patriots using the now-illegal strategy of ineligible receivers on the outside, New England pulled some trickery on a double pass. Edelman, on the left side, took the backward pass and found Danny Amendola streaking downfield for a tying touchdown.
The play undoubtedly turned momentum into the Patriots favor during a game they would win, 35-31. While many might look at Brady’s winning touchdown pass to LaFell as one of his most perfectly thrown balls ever, Edelman’s touchdown pass in that game is a pretty close second.
Double the Double Pass
The Patriots tried a double pass earlier in the contest, again looking to find Dorsett downfield. This was one of New England’s more complex double passes. Tom Brady pass laterally to Rex Burkhead who then returned the pass backward to Brady before he aired it out incomplete.
That was similar to a play New England ran in 2007 with Randy Moss. While it wasn’t so smoothly executed, the Patriots did end up getting a touchdown out of it when Brady hit Jabar Gaffney deep for the score.
It’s rare another receiver gets to throw for a touchdown pass in the regular season for the Patriots. Another instance that comes to mind was in 2001. New England dismantled the Indianapolis Colts on the road in a game that saw history from receiver David Patten.
He became the first player to run, pass, and catch for a touchdown in a game since Walter Payton 22 years earlier. Patten tossed a gem to Troy Brown that went for six points in a game where a young Tom Brady was helped by his running backs, defense, and his veteran receivers.
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