TOM BRADY RACKED up another milestone in his glittering NFL career last night as the New England Patriots thrashed the Jacksonville Jaguars 51-17 to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Four-time Super Bowl champion Brady, a man on a mission this season after successfully challenging his four-game ban over the “deflategate” saga, became only the fourth quarterback to throw 400 touchdown passes in NFL history.
Brady added his name to an illustrious list that previously included only Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Dan Marino when he connected with wide receiver Danny Amendola for a one-yard touchdown pass in the first half.
Brady also threw his 401st touchdown pass for good measure as the Patriots piled up 471 yards of offense, tied a franchise record of 35 first downs and scored on all nine occasions they had the ball.
The 38-year-old, who also equaled the number for record appearances for the Patriots in his 212th game, later played down his personal contribution.
“I’ve been a part of so many great teams and played with so many great players,” said Brady.
“I’ve always said I don’t care whether we run it in or throw it in as long as we score points, and we’re and winning it makes it fun for me.”
The Patriots display also saw kicker Stephen Gostkowski notch a league milestone, when he nailed his 423rd consecutive extra point, a new NFL record.
The victory saw the 3-0 Patriots cement their place at the top of the AFC East, where they lead the New York Jets who are 2-1.
The Patriots’ victims in last season’s Super Bowl thriller, the Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile stopped the rot after two opening defeats with a 26-0 shut out of the Chicago Bears.
The Seahawks welcomed back defensive linchpin Kam Chancellor following the resolution of his contract dispute and the safety helped spearhead a typically mean display.
“He was very comfortable; they were comfortable with him in there,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Chancellor.
“You could just see it. He made us whole.”
The Seahawks overcame the loss of star running back Marshawn Lynch to claim their first win. The highlight for the Seahawks was a superb 105-yard kickoff return touchdown from rookie Tyler Lockett.
Elsewhere Sunday, it was a disappointing day for another of the NFL’s marquee quarterbacks, with Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger forced out of his team’s battling 12-6 win at St Louis with a knee injury.
Roethlisberger was hurt late in the third quarter when Rams safety Mark Barron rolled into his lower leg on a sack.
The sack was the second on consecutive plays.
Roethlisberger made it to the sideline under his own steam, but was taken to the locker room on a cart for further evaluation, and was declared out for the rest of the game. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after spraining medial collateral ligaments in his knee.
The match at St Louis had earlier been delayed when artificial turf at the Rams’ domed stadium caught fire amid a pyrotechnic display.
The Cincinnati Bengals piled on the pressure for divisional rivals Baltimore with a 28-24 to tighten their grip on the AFC North.
The win left the Bengals with a 100 percent 3-0 record, while the Ravens are now marooned on the bottom after three defeats.
Before Sunday, Baltimore had been the only NFL franchise never to start 0-3.
