‘Wow’: Remembering one of many best days in Boston sports activities historical past on its 10-year anniversary

Tom Brady’s game-winning landing move

The day started in Foxborough, the place the Patriots took on the 5-0 Saints. The battle between Brady and fellow future Corridor of Fame quarterback Drew Brees lived as much as the expectations for a lot of the primary three quarters. New England held a 17-7 lead at halftime.

The Saints crawled again into it, although. New Orleans scored 10 straight factors to open up the second half earlier than New England responded with two straight subject targets. Nevertheless, the Saints took the lead, 24-23, when Brees capped off an 81-yard scoring drive with a 34-yard landing move to Kenny Stills with 3:29 remaining.

Hope of a Patriots win continued to sink after they four-and-out within the ensuing drive, giving the Saints the ball on the Patriots’ 24-yard line with 2:46 remaining. New England held New Orleans to a subject objective, getting the ball again with 2:24 remaining.

However the Patriots’ hopes of successful appeared useless proper after Brady threw an interception on a deep move to Julian Edelman.

The tide modified, although. The Patriots pressured the Saints to go three-and-out, giving Brady one final likelihood for a comeback win with 1:13 remaining, trailing 27-23, with no timeouts and 70 yards to go.

Brady stepped up instantly, finishing his first three passes of the drive for a mixed 38 yards to get the Patriots to the Saints’ 26-yard line. The Patriots had been confronted with one other make-or-break second after Brady threw incompletions on the next two performs, however he accomplished a 9-yard move to Austin Collie to get the primary down on fourth down.

Following a fast spike, Brady accomplished his magic. He discovered vast receiver Kenbrell Thompkins in the long run zone with 5 seconds left for the 17-yard successful rating, giving the Patriots a 30-27 win.

The landing move was one other classic Brady second, made much more memorable by Patriots radio commentator Scott Zolak.

“Brady’s again! That’s your quarterback!” Zolak first yelled. “Unicorns! Present ponies! The place’s the meat!?!?”

“We had all people going to the top zone and [Thompkins] sort of snuck into the nook and I put it up there for him and he got here down and made a terrific catch,” Brady informed reporters of the play following the sport.

Brady’s fourth-quarter heroics in that recreation really got here throughout a bizarre spot within the iconic quarterback’s profession. He accomplished simply 56.6 % of his passes for seven touchdowns and three interceptions with an 80.5 passer ranking via the primary 5 video games because the receiver and tight finish rooms underwent main modifications within the offseason.

That’s why Thompkins, an undrafted rookie, and Collie, who signed with the Patriots earlier that month, had been two of Brady’s key receivers on that drive.

“I’ve confidence in these guys,” Brady mentioned of his group of receivers on the time. “We’re actually not excellent on the market. We’re positively simply grinding.”

For Thompkins, it was the fourth landing reception of his profession, and by far essentially the most dramatic.

“Coach Invoice [Belichick] mentioned that it’d come right down to the ultimate seconds,” Thompkins mentioned. “You needed to stick to the system. We simply needed to go on the market and battle to the end.”

The win was the twenty fourth of Brady’s NFL document 46 profession fourth-quarter comebacks. Belichick actually knew that Brady thrived for these moments.

“That’s what he does,” Belichick mentioned of Brady. “That’s what he will get paid for. That’s why he’s so good.”

That day, the usually dry soccer coach additionally cracked some humor in his postgame press convention.

“Sorry if it’s a must to rewrite some your tales there on the finish,” Belichick mentioned.

“What a soccer recreation,” Belichick added. “That took about 5 years off my life.”

David Ortiz’s grand slam

Up the highway from Gillette Stadium, the Purple Sox had been making ready to try to even up Recreation 2 of the ALCS in opposition to the Tigers. A cheer roared throughout pregame when followers caught the ending of the Saints-Patriots recreation in Foxborough, which some followers at Gillette Stadium missed that day as that they had already hit the exits.

Any kind of cross-sport momentum from the Patriots’ dramatic win didn’t instantly carry over into Fenway on that Sunday autumn night time. After they did not document a success till the ninth inning in Recreation 1, the Purple Sox’ bats went quiet once more. They did not document a success via the primary 5 innings as Tigers ace Max Scherzer silenced them all through the night time.

Purple Sox starter Clay Buchholz ran out of fuel within the sixth inning, giving up homers to Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila as they scored 4 runs within the body to take a 5-0 lead. The Purple Sox had been capable of get a run again that inning, however Ortiz stranded a runner in scoring place when Scherzer struck him out to finish the sixth.

Boston continued to stare down the opportunity of falling right down to a 2-0 gap with the sequence transferring to Detroit over a lot of the following two innings. Scherzer retired the facet, so as, within the seventh. Within the eighth, Stephen Drew grounded out to open up the inning. Will Middlebrooks doubled and Jacoby Ellsbury drew a stroll within the ensuing at-bats, however Shane Victorino struck out for the second out of the inning.

Dustin Pedroia stored the faint hope alive although, hitting a line drive single to proper subject that got here off the bat so rapidly that Middlebrooks was held at third. The hit loaded the bases up for Ortiz because the Purple Sox trailed, 5-1.

The Tigers known as upon right-handed reliever Joaquín Benoit to exchange Al Alburquerque and face Ortiz. The Corridor of Famer didn’t waste any time welcoming Benoit into the sport, connecting together with his first pitch, a changeup.

Ortiz’s swing seemed prefer it had an opportunity to ship the ball over the wall in right-center subject on the crack of the bat. Tigers proper fielder Torii Hunter, a nine-time Gold Glove winner and well-regarded as top-of-the-line defensive outfielders of all time, rapidly closed in on the fly ball, making an attempt to get himself beneath it as he approached the fence.

Hunter ran out of room as he jumped as much as try to make the seize. His hip related with the wall, flipping him over because the ball sailed simply over his glove and into the glove of the Purple Sox’ bullpen catcher.

Ortiz had executed it once more. His residence run tied the sport and gave the Purple Sox new life as Hunter almost snatched it away.

“I inform you — Torii at all times scares me,” Ortiz informed reporters of Hunter’s chase to get the ball. “He’s top-of-the-line outfielders I ever noticed in my life.”

Hunter additionally thought he had an opportunity to make a catch for the ages.

“I jumped up; I assumed I had a bead on it,” Hunter mentioned. “Subsequent factor you realize I’m falling over the fence.”

Oritz’s homer clearly didn’t win the Purple Sox recreation — Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit the game-winning single within the ninth — but it surely was all that anybody talked about after the sport. A number of fan clips of the house run at Fenway emerged the next day, with every capturing the magic of the second.

Ortiz’s teammates and members of the Purple Sox had been in as a lot awe as they had been.

“David, so many occasions, has come up large, whether or not it’s the common season, postseason,” Purple Sox supervisor John Farrell mentioned. “None greater than tonight.”

“I suppose David actually is essentially the most clutch hitter we’ve ever had,” Purple Sox proprietor John Henry mentioned. “Wow.”

“We wanted one thing to occur,” Purple Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks added. “Getting David to the plate within the eighth inning was big. I grew up watching the man come via in moments like that.”

Ortiz’s residence run was a statistical anomaly. It marked the primary time in MLB postseason historical past {that a} participant hit a game-tying grand slam within the eighth inning or later. Because the Purple Sox trailed 5-0 earlier within the recreation, it marked simply the fifteenth time in 474 situations {that a} staff got here again to win from a deficit of not less than 5 runs in a playoff recreation, in line with the Elias Sports activities Bureau.

Whereas many thought Ortiz was swinging for the fences to attempt the sport, he mentioned that wasn’t the case on the time.

“My concept wasn’t to exit and hit a grand slam,” Ortiz mentioned. “If I used to be telling you about serious about hitting a grand slam, I’d be mendacity to you now.”

No matter Ortiz’s intent, the second is, certainly, one of many best in Purple Sox’ historical past.

“I’ve seen him do some fairly cool issues. However that’s fairly particular,” Pedroia mentioned.

The Aftermath

As many possible keep in mind, the Purple Sox went on to win the ALCS, defeating the Tigers in six video games as Shane Victorino’s grand slam in Recreation 6 determined the end result.

Ortiz didn’t have a second as dramatic as he did in Recreation 2 of the ALCS within the World Collection, however he placed on a hitting efficiency for the ages within the Fall Basic. He hit an astonishing .688 with two residence runs and 6 RBIs, proving to be the catalyst of the Purple Sox’ six-game World Collection win over the Cardinals, giving the town a title to have a good time simply over six months after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Ortiz’s efficiency that October is commonly cited as one of many predominant causes he turned a first-ballot Corridor of Famer in 2022. Nearly each member of that Purple Sox staff has since retired, with Xander Bogaerts being the one participant on an energetic roster in 2023.

The Patriots’ 2013 season didn’t finish in a title. These vast receiver woes that they had had been among the many causes for his or her downfall that season. However it did give Julian Edelman an opportunity to breakout, setting the stage for the following 5 seasons as he turned Brady’s high goal throughout that point en route to a few extra Tremendous Bowl titles.

As for Thompkins, that landing seize was the final of his NFL profession. The Patriots minimize Thompkins early within the 2014 season. He signed with the Raiders shortly after however was minimize earlier than the beginning of the 2015 season.

Thompkins signed with the Patriots’ observe squad following his launch from the Raiders earlier than signing with the Jets later within the 2015 season. He was on and off the Jets’ roster from that time via the beginning of the 2017 season, when he was launched for good.