EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tom Brady was tough to corral on Sunday. After eluding Jets defenders all afternoon, the first game this season in which he didn’t take a sack, Brady spoke with reporters for just three minutes before shuffling quickly out of MetLife Stadium.
The official reason for Brady’s quick exit was that he was going to see his wife and children at the airport after not seeing them for the last week. But Brady was also frustrated with the Patriots’ performance in a 24-17 win over the Jets, and didn’t want to talk about another NFL record he set on Sunday afternoon.
“Just didn’t execute as well as we needed to,” Brady said. “I think that’s probably the theme. Just execution, keep at it. It’s only the sixth game of the year, so still a lot to figure out. Just going out to practice and trying to do better.”
Now in his 18th season and with five Super Bowl titles under his belt, Brady is at the point of his career where he seemingly sets a record every week. Sunday was a big one — Brady won his 187th regular-season game, breaking a tie with Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. Brady reached the milestone in 24 fewer starts than Manning and 57 fewer than Favre.
But here was Brady’s answer when asked about setting the record:
“I wish we’d have done better. But we won. So, probably a lot to learn from it. Wish we could’ve played a little better offensively, but we battled.”
Brady was miffed that he barely completed 50 percent of his passes — 20 of 38 for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t happy about throwing his second interception of the season, or that the Patriots didn’t wake up on offense until they were trailing, 14-0, in the second quarter.
But the final score said it all — Brady and the Patriots fought back, executed a few clutch plays, and for the 187th time in his career, came out on the winning side.
“That’s what we’re all here for, is to win games,” Bill Belichick said. “Been very fortunate to have Tom at the helm of a lot of those wins.”
Sunday marked only the second time this season that Brady was held to fewer than 300 yards (also in the season opener against Kansas City). The Jets confounded him early, turning the Patriots’ offense into a series of jump balls, most of which weren’t caught. They were held off the scoreboard until 5:19 remained in the second quarter, and Brady was taking some big hits.
The official game book says Brady only took four hits, but it seemed like he was under pressure and getting pushed around for most of the day. CBS cameras caught Brady shouting some dirty words while coming off the field after one failed drive. A late hit by a Jets defender that wasn’t flagged got Brady fired up, too.
“I don’t know what it was today,” Brady said. “I think it was just frustration for the way things were going, our execution and so forth. Just boils over a little bit.”
Brady’s teammates certainly noticed him getting fired up. They just didn’t know if it was because of how well the Jets were playing, or the way the Patriots were playing.
“It gets you fired up, and sometimes you’re scared that you got him fired up. You don’t even know,” Rob Gronkowski said.
“When he gets hyped up, we better get on the same page,” receiver Brandin Cooks said.
But Brady, of course, eventually figured it out. A focus on Dion Lewis and the run game, and a timely 24-yard pass interference call on Jamal Adams covering Gronkowski, led to the first touchdown. Then a perfect 42-yard pass to Cooks set up the tying score right before halftime. Then the Patriots got the ball to start the third quarter and marched 75 yards in eight plays, capped by a 33-yard score by Gronkowski.
A 14-0 deficit turned into a 21-14 lead, and the Patriots never looked back.
“They have a guy that is leading the pack in No. 12 that figures out a lot of things,” Adams said. “He dissected us. He took advantage. He made more plays.”
Brady’s been making more plays than his opponent for 18 years. He did it Sunday against a Jets defense that had allowed more than 21 points just once in its first five games.
Jets coach Todd Bowles, one of the blitz-happiest coaches in the league, tried to put pressure on Brady and make him uncomfortable. It worked, but not for long enough.
“It’s never enough pressure,” Bowles said. “We got some hits on him, but he’s a great player. He’s seen it all. He can get up if he gets knocked down.”
Brady did that again on Sunday, playing with a sprained left shoulder that required an MRI last week. Brady had some questionable reads — throwing into triple coverage to Chris Hogan, and double coverage to Phillip Dorsett, the latter of which was intercepted — but you’d never know that he was feeling any pain.
“Ever since I started playing sports, I just felt like I had to be out there for my team,” Brady said. “Worked pretty hard at it. Wish I could’ve play a little better today, but it was at least nice to be out there.”
For the 241st time in his career, Brady was out there Sunday. And even if it wasn’t pretty, he jogged off with a win for the 187th time, more than any other quarterback in NFL history.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin