National Football League

Brady and Branch:

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

FOXBORO -- During his first tour of duty in New England, Deion Branch was more of a possession receiver than a game-breaking stylist in the Randy Moss mold.

In his return to New England, Branch was his typical fundamentally flamboyant self, catching 9 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while helping the Patriots rally past the Baltimore Ravens, 23-20, in overtime at Gillette Stadium yesterday.

After four-plus somewhat disappointing seasons with the Seahawks, Branch is no longer sleepless in Seattle. Branch can once again rest easy at night, secure in the fact he is back catching footballs thrown by Tom Brady.

The Patriots are an organization that values the whole more than its parts. And that suits Branch just fine. In the Patriots' offense there is only one headliner, and that's Brady. Everyone else goes out and contributes by making plays that enable the Pats to make headlines.

"Tom and I have been away for four years now and I honestly don't feel like we've missed a beat," said Branch. "That just shows what type of guy he is, what type of player he is. With him, my job is to just get open."

Branch spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots, grabbing 78 passes for 998 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2005. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, making 11 catches for 133 yards as the Patriots beat Philadelphia for their third title in four years.

The Patriots re-acquired Branch from Seattle last week for a fourth round draft pick. He certainly proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Moss, one of the most feared deep threats in the NFL, whom the Patriots dealt to Minnesota nearly two weeks ago.

"It was good to see him back there," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "He's a good football player. He had a chance to make some plays and I think he made them. (He) wasn't perfect, but he did a lot of good things for us like he's always done."

On the winning drive in OT, Branch got things started with a 23-yard reception. He then hauled in a clutch 10-yard reception on third and 2 that gave the Patriots a first down at the Ravens' 21. Three plays later Stephen Gostkowski booted the game-winning 35-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in overtime.

Gostkowski kicked three field goals on the day, including a 24-yarder with 1:51 left in regulation that tied the score, 20-20.

"We've known each other for a long time so I think that chemistry is there and it will be there for a long time," said Brady, who completed 27 of 44 passes for 292 yards. "He made some big catches, all those play-action passes, he made some good plays on those, so it's great to have him out there."

The Patriots trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter. Branch got the comeback started by catching a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady with 11:02 left to play that trimmed the deficit to, 20-17. BenJarvis Green-Ellis scored the Patriots' first touchdown on a 2-yard run in the first quarter.

Brady has now rallied the Patriots back from a fourth quarter deficit to victory 30 times in his career.

"I'm used to being in this situation with this team and that guy," said Branch. "I don't want to talk about the past, but I haven't felt this way in four years. That's kind of crazy. I truly feel like when we got the ball on that last drive, we knew, 'Hey, we're going to go down. We're going to get some points out of this and win this game.'"

Branch didn't go so far as to say Brady, who is now 8-1 in overtime games as a starter, can walk on water. But you get the feeling he believes Brady is capable of leading this edition of the Patriots back to the Promised Land.

"Tom rubs off on guys," said Branch. "I'm a natural-born champion, but playing with this guy, he just makes you feel a little bit more than what you really are ... I give him so much credit because he deserves it. I wish every receiver would get the opportunity to play with this guy because he's amazing."