Moss had six receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown during the New England Patriots' 27-17 victory against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and his 71-yard score in the third quarter was the difference in the game. Quarterback Tom Brady seemed to take more gambles down the field to Moss than he has all season, and the wideout's contributions to the offense played a major role in Brady's success.
"If you've got 11 guys working together, anything is possible," said Moss, who limited his postgame news conference to two questions for the second time this season. "That's what we tried to do here, just execute on offense, and everybody did everything right on that play and you saw the results."
Moss caught his 140th career touchdown pass, which tied him with Buffalo's Terrell Owens for second all-time — 57 behind Jerry Rice. Moss, who is in his 12th NFL season and third with the Patriots, passed Henry Ellard and Cris Carter for seventh on the all-time yards receiving list with 13,913. It was also Moss' 63rd 100-yard game, which is second only to Rice's 76.
Those numbers all take a back seat to Moss' touchdown, which changed the pace of the game. He and Wes Welker ran crossing routes, and the safety followed Welker to the right side of the field. Moss caught the ball on the left side, reached back to stiff-arm rookie cornerback Vontae Davis in the face, skipped over Davis' last-gasp tackle attempt and raced down the sideline for a touchdown.
"Being able to stiff-arm that guy and then get his legs up, he's a savvy player and knows when players are around," Welker said. "He was able to turn that into a big play for us where we needed an answer. He really came through on that."
The Dolphins opened the second half with an odyssey to the end zone that spanned 16 plays, 66 yards and 10:09, and their touchdown gave them a 17-16 lead. They're at their best when they control the ball on offense with their dangerous running game, and it looked like the game's momentum was swinging in Miami's favor.
Then, on a third-and-1, Brady hit Moss for the score heard 'round the Razor. If the Patriots failed to convert on that play, Miami could have gotten the ball back with another chance to bleed the clock and really put pressure on the Patriots. Instead, Moss scored and also hauled in a reception for a two-point conversion to give the Patriots a 24-17 advantage.
"That was huge," Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain said. "Those guys, we look to them every week to put up points, and that was a situation where the defense had kind of given up some points and put us in a bind, and they were able to pull us right out of it. I take my hat off to those guys."
Rather than staying patient and sticking with the Wildcat on the next drive, the Dolphins got a little more aggressive and went with their conventional offensive style on five of their eight plays. It also helped that the Patriots' defense sniffed out Miami's gimmick plays, but Miami looked a little too desperate right off the bat. Thank Moss for that.
"Those plays can turn around [momentum] in a hurry," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "That was a big one to hit."
By Brady's commitment to looking for Moss on the deep pass, the quarterback opened up seams for Welker, who finished with nine receptions and 84 yards after Brady didn't even target his favorite receiver in the first quarter. So, even when Moss isn't catching the ball, he is still making his presence felt by changing defensive coverage plans.
Moss' most significant impact, though, happens when he reaches the end zone on a home-run play. It was the sixth-longest score of his career and the longest touchdown catch he's ever had from Brady.
This one won a game.
"He's so fast," said Brady, who completed 25-of-37 passes for 332 yards, one touchdown and one interception. "It's always nice for a quarterback when you see the back of [No.] 81 sprinting down the field once he gets by them. There are not too many guys that can catch him. It was a great play, and we needed it."
