Patriots vs. Packers: Rodgers Labels Brady 'Gold Standard' After 31-17 Loss

The New England Patriots won the Tom Brady vs Aaron Rodgers sequel at the Gillette Stadium on Sunday as they beat the Green Bay Packers 31-17 with two of the greatest quarterbacks in the game going head-to-head for the first time since 2014.

The last time the two quarterbacks went head-to-head the Packers came away with a 26-21 win at the Lambeau Field and the game Sunday night was billed as the sequel with many expecting the GOAT, greatest of all time, debate to be settled.

It was Brady who came out on top with the five-time Super Bowl winner finishing with 22 for 35 passes with 294 yards and a touchdown, while his counterpart Rodgers was 24 for 43 with 259 yards and two touchdown passes. The Patriots quarterback also broke Peyton Mannings record for most yards in the post-season and regular season combined in the second half of the game.

The home side took the early lead thanks to a rushing touchdown from James White before a field goal put the Packers on the board in the first quarter. Rodgers then threw his first touchdown of the game to Devante Adams in the second quarter to tie the game at 10.

But the Patriots scored another touchdown to take a 17-10 lead at half-time. Brady struggled in the third quarter throwing six incompletions in a row, while Rodgers recorded his second touchdown of the game with a pass to Jimmy Graham and the tie the game going into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter, however, belonged to Brady after he led a drive following a fumble from Packers tailback Aaron Jones to give the Patriots a 24-17 lead. He then threw his first and only touchdown pass to Josh Gordon to increase the lead to 31-17, and it remained the same when the clock ran out at the Gillette Stadium on Sunday night.

Rodgers and Brady were full of praises for each other prior to the game, which was billed as the battle to settle the quarterback GOAT debate. And the Packers star continued his admiration after the game when asked about Brady beating Manning’s record.

“If you play long enough and you have the sustained greatness that Tom has had its going to be a lot of records that go down,” Rodgers said during his post-match press conference. “He’s had an incredible career, been the gold standard for quarterbacks for the better part of two decades, he’s a great player.”

“They just adjusted really well. You know we got some things going and they adjusted. We had momentum in the third and in the fourth quarter but that unfortunate fumble. And I also missed a couple of chances to give the ball to Te [Devante Adams] that probably would have given us a better chance,” the Packers quarterback added, talking about the Patriots’ defense and how they lost it in the final quarter.