There was probably no need for slow motion. When the referees went under the hood to determine if Tom Brady's knee hit the turf before he crossed into the end zone, he was probably already moving slow enough for them to make a call.
The run was quickly ruled good, and the Patriots' quarterback was on his way to a four-touchdown day -- three passing and one rushing -- and only the third time in his career he scored both ways in the same game. Although that aspect of his performance was somewhat rare, his passing line (22 of 36, 340 yards) in New England's 52-28 win over the Buffalo Bills won't arch any eyebrows.
Until you consider that almost all of it came in the second half. Brady started his day 5 of 5 on the opening drive to set up a Stevan Ridley touchdown run, but Buffalo held him to 5 of 13 the rest of the half as the Bills led 21-7.
The Patriots responded by showing a commitment to the run, with running backs gaining the first 63 yards of the second half, which opened the passing routes for Brady and the receivers. "They were really challenging us to run the ball," Brady said. "They had some little guys on the field with our big personnel groupings, so at that point you have to try and take advantage of it."
Working off play-action passes, Brady was able to pass for 199 yards in the second half with three touchdowns, including a beautiful diving catch by Brandon Lloyd in the right corner of the end zone, the last of New England's six second-half touchdowns.
None of it may have been possible, though, if not for that slow-motion run. The game was tied at 21 when Brady went to the sideline and let his frustration with the slow start be known by directing an obscene comment toward Buffalo on the sidelines that was caught clearly on camera.
The message was delivered, and his troops rallied behind him and ran Buffalo off the field. "Tom's always going to fight to the end, and knowing that you have that [with] your quarterback position makes you want to fight until the end," WR Wes Welker said.