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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady stopped by the dinner that owner Robert Kraft threw for the 15-year celebration of the 2001 New England championship team Saturday night to say hi to his former teammates. He left quickly. He had history waiting for him and needed his rest.
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"I didn't stay too long because I wanted to be up early ready to go today," Brady said Sunday after becoming the NFL's winningest quarterback in the Patriots' 26-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Brady, a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan, made his first start against Indianapolis on Sept. 30, 2001, a 44-13 win.
That came in the third game of the season, with Drew Bledsoe hurt. The Patriots had a 5-5 record after losing to the St. Louis Rams -- and then went 9-0 the rest of the way, capped by the upset of those same Rams in the Super Bowl.
Flash forward to 2016. Brady has 201 wins, breaking the tie he created with Peyton Manning just last week and doing it on the day they welcomed 38 players back from the '01 team at halftime.
The Patriots, beginning life for the rest of the season without Rob Gronkowski, moved to 10-2 with the win.
And Brady is No. 1.
"We're in the locker room with a walking legend," said cornerback Malcolm Butler, whose Super Bowl interception gave Brady his fourth title. "He has the most wins in quarterback history in the NFL, but he still comes to work like he hasn't accomplished anything.
"I look up to that; much respect and congratulations to (him)."
Brady said, "It's always been about winning and I've been very fortunate to be on a lot of great teams, so I'm very grateful."
Brady, who threw one touchdown pass, also picked up his 179th regular-season win, leaving him one shy of Manning and Brett Favre (186 each) as the only quarterbacks with 180 victories.
"He's all about the team," defensive captain Devin McCourty said.
Brady, playing on a sore knee, finished 33 of 49 for 269 yards. Rookie Malcolm Mitchell and Julian Edelman caught eight passes apiece -- and Brady said, as he often does, his offense could have done more.
The Patriots, winners of seven of their last eight, built a 17-0 lead and sent the Rams (4-8) to their third straight loss, the seventh loss in their last eight games.
New England held LA to 25 yards of offense in the first half-- the lowest total for a half in club history -- and had two interceptions and four sacks.
LeGarrette Blount, who turns 30 Monday, romped 43 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 on New England's first possession. Brady hit Chris Hogan with a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Stephen Gostkowski, apparently breaking out of his kicking slump, kicked field goals of 28, 48, 45 and 45 yards again.
"We wish we could have put more pressure on him," Texans safety T.J. McDonald said of Brady.
Blount, who ran for 88 yards on 18 carries, scored his 13th rushing touchdown of the season, one shy of matching Curtis Martin's club record (1995 and '96). Blount said he was the first teammate to say "201" to Brady.
Rookie Jared Goff, who is 201 wins behind Brady, fell to 0-3 but could have had better numbers had it not been for several drops, three of them by top receiver Kenny Britt. On another drop, by Lance Kendricks, the ball popped into the air into a Butler interception.
The Patriots almost held an opponent below 100 yards for the fourth time in team history. The Rams had 96 yards until Goff hit Britt with a 66-yard bomb on fourth-and-11 on the first play after the two-minute warning. Goff, who was 14 of 32 for 161 yards, connected with Britt on a 1-yard touchdown pass with 1:15 left.
New England's Danny Amendola, who caught three passes for 30 yards, hobbled off the field with an ankle injury after getting hit returning a fourth-quarter punt.
NOTES:
The Rams reportedly signed contract extensions with coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead, deals done months ago but not announced. Fisher's is for two years and Snead's, according to reports, beyond next season. Former Rams great Eric Dickerson has called for firing Fisher, who is two losses shy of becoming the NFL's losingest coach. He is 31-44-1 in five years with the Rams and is in his seventh straight season without a playoff appearance. His teams haven't won a playoff game since 2003. Asked if the move was the right one, defensive end William Hayes said, "Absolutely. He's a stand-up guy, takes care of his guys."
The Rams were missing WR Tavon Austin (44 catches) because of a chest injury. The Patriots were without key special teamers Matthew Slater (foot) and Jordan Richards (knee).
