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New England Patriots: 5 Key moments in the 2016 Season

By James Caughlin

Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft celebrates after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft celebrates after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /
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New England Patriots
Oct 9, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) during warmups before the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Patriots won 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

2) The Return of the Brady

Week 5 saw the team travel to Cleveland in Tom Brady’s return to the lineup from his suspension. Coming off a shutout loss at home to Buffalo the fans were eager to see the team turn things around and get back on the winning track.

One thing Brady has done over the years is make sure that no matter what his physical state, he was out on the field on Sundays (or Thursdays… or Mondays). The past two weeks had been dominated by talk over the toughness of his replacements and whatever the fans thought of that issue, their regular guy was back after a month off.

Any concerns over some rust where quickly removed as Brady expertly dissected the Browns defense in a clinic, throwing three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett in a 400-yard day. While the day was not perfect for the offense, it was a nice reminder of the difference when Brady is running the show compared to another player. It was also a game that provided glimpses of what the defense could be as they knocked out Cody Kessler on a big hit that generated a safety for the team. With that win the team moved to 4-1 and it was on to Cincinnati.

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