Sam Bradford passed his first test as a starter and now he’s got head coach Steve Spagnuolo saying he’ll have to look at the tape when asked if Bradford had won the Rams’ starting quarterback job after a 36-35 win at New England.
It took Josh Brown’s 37-yard field goal on the last play Thursday night to seal the victory who somehow nearly lost this game despite leading in time of possession 43:46 to 16:14, and outgaining the Pats 462-288. The Patriots rallied from a 27-14 deficit to a 35-27 lead on Brady’s touchdown passes of 65 yards to Randy Moss and another 20 yard strike from Brady to a tight end, and then Brian Hoyer’s 5-yarder to Sam Aiken with 11:14 left after an interception by Brandon McGowan.
However, the night was all about Bradford and how he would react starting his first game since 2008 while at Oklahoma. Bradford led scoring drives on three of his first four series. He went 4 for 4 for 48 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass to Michael Hoomanawanui on his first series. On his third possession, Bradford was 3 for 4 for 48 yards, setting up a 25-yard field goal by Brown for a 10-7 lead. Then on his fourth series, he hooked up with Hoomanawanui again for a 12-yard score and a 17-7 lead. Brown added a 45-yard field goal after a Patriots touchdown, putting St. Louis ahead 20-14 at halftime while under Bradford’s leadership.