Early in the 2016 season, Tom Brady’s locker stood dormant with its regular inhabitant serving a four-game suspension for Deflategate.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman made the short walk across the locker room in full view of the media and several teammates and reached up on the top shelf of the quarterback’s locker. He retrieved a comb that did not belong to him and began running it through it his hair.
“I need his mojo,” Edelman said to curious onlookers before replacing the comb as if he had never been there and returning to his own side of the locker room.
Two years later, the tables had turned. With Edelman – the MVP of New England’s 13-3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII – serving a four-game suspension at the start of the season and Brady desperately in need of his teammate’s mojo.
As the Patriots attempted to integrate some new pieces of the offense, Brady struggled without Edelman in the first month of the regular season. The reigning NFL MVP completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 6.8 yards per attempt with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He had a 94.0 passer rating, and the team went 2-2.
After Edelman returned, Brady completion 66.7 percent of his passes for 7.8 yards per attempt, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 95.91 passer rating over 15 games that include the postseason. The Patriots went 12-3.
In those 15 games, Edelman made 100 catches for 1,238 yards and six touchdowns. If those games had been a regular season, it would’ve been the best season of Edelman’s career with a game to spare.
“He’s a fighter, man, that kid,” Brady said after the game. “I’m just so proud of him. He’s been an incredible player for this team in the playoffs and he just cemented himself, again, in the history of the NFL for what his accomplishments are.”
On Sunday, Edelman was most the consistent weapon in the Patriots offense, continuously shaking free to make 10 catches for 141 yards. He also suggested he didn’t deserve the MVP award.
“Your job as a receiver is to get open and catch the ball and block in the run game,” Edelman said. “My name was called, I was asked to make a couple plays and we were able to do that. There were a lot of plays by other guys. The defense was unreal holding that offense to three points. It is pretty crazy. They should be the MVP – the whole (defense).”
Sidelined during Brady’s MVP run and the team’s Super Bowl loss last season, Edelman said it was difficult to watch his team play without him.
“Injuries are psychologically so hard for an athlete because you don’t get to do what you love to do,” Edelman said. “When your team is going out there and playing in the Super Bowl and you don’t get to help or you were not a factor, it was definitely very tough. But we have it this year so we’re good.”
He came back to star in the postseason, catching a playoff-high 26 passes with a playoff-high 388 receiving yards. He now has 115 career postseason catches for 1,659 yards. Only Jerry Rice has more postseason catches and yards – an absurd and probably untouchable 151 and 2,245, respectively.
“Tough times don’t last,” Edelman said. “Tough people do.”
(Dave Brown is a freelance correspondent who covers the Patriots for the Monitor. You can follow him on Twitter @ThatDaveBrown).