New York: Tom Brady urged the New England Patriots on Monday to use their first loss of the season as motivation, describing the upset defeat to the Denver Broncos as one of the lowest points of his career.
The Patriots’ chances of going through the season unbeaten ended in snowy Denver on Sunday night, when Broncos running back C.J. Anderson raced over for a touchdown in overtime to clinch a 30-24 win.
The defeat jolted the Patriots (10-1), who had been tipped by many to go through the regular season unbeaten as they look to defend their Super Bowl crown. Brady told WEEI sports radio on Monday the Patriots had struggled to accept a defeat which also left star tight end Rob Gronkowski nursing a knee injury.
“It was a very hard loss,” Brady said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so visibly pissed off after a loss. And I think everyone felt the same way. Hopefully we can use it as motivation going forward.”
While Brady suggested the Patriots had been on the wrong end of some debatable officiating decisions, ultimately the players were responsible for the outcome. “Like I said, there’s things that we could have done better. And it’s certainly not to leave it up to a call here or a call there or one player,” Brady said.  
“There’s things across the board that we need to do a better job of and we can do a better job of. And that’s what the focus is going to be this week.”
Meanwhile, reports said on Monday that the knee injury suffered by Gronkowski was unlikely to keep him out for more than one game. “I think they’ll figure out kind of what’s going on with him today and plan accordingly,” Brady said. “All our fingers are crossed that it’s nothing serious.”  The Patriots face the Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) in their next game.