FOXBORO, Mass. — According to Danny Amendola, he and Tom Brady locked eyes — and they both knew.
Brady was scrambling right, Amendola going against convention by running left, farther away from the quarterback on a fourth-quarter third down. It didn't matter. Brady lobbed one back across the field, and Amendola made the catch fading away for yet another first down.
"He looked at me, and I could tell," Amendola said, almost sheepishly after New England's 35-14 [...]
FOXBORO, Mass. — According to Danny Amendola, he and Tom Brady locked eyes — and they both knew.
Brady was scrambling right, Amendola going against convention by running left, farther away from the quarterback on a fourth-quarter third down. It didn't matter. Brady lobbed one back across the field, and Amendola made the catch fading away for yet another first down.
"He looked at me, and I could tell," Amendola said, almost sheepishly after New England's 35-14 rout of Tennessee. "It ended up working out."
The most memorable of Amendola's 11 catches could serve as a stand-in for what the veteran wideout means this time of year, his role as a safety blanket expanding in the most important games of the postseason each January. When Brady is in trouble, when a third down needs to be converted, when a big play needs to be made, Amendola is there.
"Look, you get in these tough situations, the season's on the line every week you come out in the postseason. You want to be out there going to your most dependable players," said wide receiver Matthew Slater. "Can you think of a guy that’s been more dependable since he got here?"
A solid if unspectacular cog of the Patriots' wide-receiving corps during the regular season, Amendola delivered his best game of the year in the divisional round thrashing of the Titans. He caught 11 balls for 112 yards — his first 100-yard game since Week One's loss to the Chiefs.
Amendola's 11 receptions are tied for the second-most ever by a Patriot in the postseason; it's the most any Patriot has ever caught in an AFC playoff game.
Amendola has a habit of playing his best in January. He has a touchdown in each of the last two Patriots Super Bowls, and he memorably scored twice in New England's tight divisional win over Baltimore three years ago.
This time around, there was no dramatic touchdown catch on a pass from Julian Edelman. He was just there whenever Brady needed someone on third down. He was — what was that word Slater used? — dependable.
Five of the Patriots' 11 third-down conversions were to Amendola, that fadeaway catch on a3rd-and-10 the most impressive of them. But he was also there for 15 on a 3rd-and-8, 12 on a 3rd-and-2, 11 on a 3rd-and-7 and seven on a 3rd-and-3. That’s how New England kept churning the chains all night, first wresting control away from Tennessee and later making sure there was no doubt.
"He played incredible," Brady said of Amendola. "Those third downs were huge today. We talked about in the bye week of really trying to improve that; [they] go a long way towards helping us win. We did a pretty good job on third down in the red area and didn't turn it over, so it’s a good recipe for winning."
Amendola caught all but two passes headed his way, compensating for a relatively quiet day from both Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan. All night long, Tennessee was gutted by the quote-unquote other parts of New England's passing game. Amendola joined Dion Lewis and James White as the critical components of the Pats' pass attack, exploiting the Titans in the middle of the field all game.
Slater called Amendola both "Steady Eddie" for his reliability and "All-Weather 'Dola" for his immunity from the weather conditions.
"Like the tires," he joked.
"[As a] mentally and physically tough football player, in 10 years of football I'd put him up there with anybody," Slater added. "The guy just wills himself to find a way to make plays. In those clutch moments, he's not afraid of the moment.
"And it's not by accident. He prepares himself all week to go out there and compete at a high level and make plays for this football team. There's something about guys in this league that can't be measured, and that’s their heart. When I think about Danny Amendola, he's all heart. He's a warrior."
That remarkable third-down conversion didn't mean a whole lot Saturday; it came with the Pats up 28-7. But it was a reminder: In January, who's more dependable than Danny Amendola? All you need to do is lock eyes.