Julian Edelman scored the New England Patriots’ first touchdown of their Wild Card Game on Saturday against the Tennessee Titans on an end-around, and he did so thanks to some help from Tom Brady.
The Patriots lined up in a single back set with Edelman lined up wide to the left. Brady yelled at him “Julian, get in the slot!”
Edelman then motioned into the slot.
Was Edelman really lost on the play? The complete opposite. The Patriots were only making Tennessee think that was the case, because they gave the ball to Edelman, who sprinted into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown run.
Brady just playing chess out there, pretending Edelman didn’t know what the play was @TomBrady @Edelman11 (h/t @Tucker_TnL) pic.twitter.com/jJh0YvcVUj
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 5, 2020
The Patriots will use everything to their advantage, including little mind games like that one.
That sort of trick may only work once as long as opposing defenses prepare for it, but that was a great time to use it. And Edelman might have to amend this quote to include “and for tricks.”
