Tom Brady threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns. He hit seven different receivers and finished with a quarterback rating of 127.7.
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Still, as clean as his comeback performance was in the Patriots' 33-13 victory over the Browns, he felt like he wasn't at his best.
"I think there was plenty of rust out there," said Brady after helping the Patriots win their fourth game in five attempts this season. "I could do better in a lot of areas. I think it was a good win today, but it was one game . . . 4-1 is a good place to be for us. But we got a long road ahead so we gotta keep rolling."
Though there may have been plays that Brady felt he left on the field, he did acknowledge that he enjoyed himself after serving a league-imposed four-game ban for Deflategate. In the first couple of minutes of his postgame press conference, Brady used the word "fun" five different times to describe his experience.
"I thought the team played really well," Brady said. "It was fun to be a part of it. It's been a fun week to get ready to play and kind of be back doing what I love to do. Just proud of the way our guys played . . . I was just trying to focus on what my job is and what I have to do. It felt very much like a normal week for me once I got into it. It was fun to come out and play, and fun to win. That's the most important thing."
Brady flashed a bit of emotion quickly after running for a first down with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter and the Patriots up, 30-7. He popped up off the ground at the Browns sideline and flashed his own variation of the first-down signal typically given by officials.
New England Patriots
"Well, I don't run much so when I do . . . I think I was a little excited," Brady said when asked about his celebration. "Glad we got the first down."
And, clearly, glad to be back.