Josh Gordon’s first touchdown with the Patriots looked almost exactly like one from Randy Moss

Josh Gordon scored the first touchdown of his Patriots career on Thursday night in their 38-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts. It was just his second game with the team, which traded for him a few weeks ago by sending the Cleveland Browns a fifth-round pick. At his peak in 2013, Gordon led the league with 1,646 yards even though he missed two games.

Gordon is so talented that the trade prompted some comparisons the one Belichick made for Randy Moss prior to the 2007 season. That seems a little ambitious considering Moss is a first ballot Hall of Famer, but there is one comparison worth making: Gordon’s 34-yard touchdown reception looked eerily similar to a play Randy Moss made with the Patriots in 2007.

Moss’ 35-yard touchdown and Gordon’s 34-yard touchdown had some of the same dynamics going on. On both plays, Tom Brady was under pressure and fired a last-resort heave down the field into the end zone. Both receivers were sandwiched in between two defenders before catching the ball. AND both plays took place in the same corner of the end zone.

Gordon’s touchdown was also special for another reason: It was the 500th passing touchdown of Brady’s career and he became the 71st player to catch a touchdown from Brady, an NFL record.

After the game, Brady said he was pleased with the progress Gordon has made and that those type of plays require a lot of trust.

That was a great play Josh made, you know, jumping over the top of two defenders. That tells you the kind of confidence I have in a really short period of time. You know, he’s earned it and happy to see him make that play.

Gordon only had four targets in the game, catching two of them for 50 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. The Colts had made it a one-score game, but Gordon’s touchdown put the Patriots up by 14 points in the fourth quarter, making a comeback attempt difficult for the Colts even before Sony Michel’s touchdown run put the game out of reach.

This is why New England made the move for Gordon — he can be the missing deep threat in the Patriots offense that they lost when they traded away Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams. The price for Gordon being so low helped too.

Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Gordon, who has had a hard time staying on the field because of injuries and drug suspensions. As he showed the world Thursday night, he has the talent to be an impact wide receiver in the league — he just needs to be available.