FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With nine seconds left in what might have been his last game as a New England Patriot, Tom Brady was still trying to figure out what went wrong. A moment earlier, in his final act on the Gillette Stadium field late Saturday night, Brady threw a pass from his end zone that was deflected, then intercepted and returned for a touchdown.
After walking slowly to the sideline, Brady sat alone and motionless on the bench, his helmet on the ground between his feet. All around him, dozens of teammates and team personnel scurried at a frenzied pace, a harried dance triggered by the stunning end of a Patriots season gone bad.