The New England Patriots (5-2) and Tom Brady put on a show for the Wembley Stadium crowd in London, England on Sunday and crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Patriots got off to a quick start, building a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.  Brandon Marriweather set the tone for the Patriots defense, picking off Buc’s quarterback Josh Johnson on the fifth play of the game and returning it 39 yards for a touchdown.  Brady hit receiver Wes Welker for the second touchdown of the quarter on a 14-yard pitch and catch.  Welker was Bradys’ favorite target in this game, hitting him 10 times for 107 yards and that first quarter touchdown.  He also hooked up with Randy Moss five times for 69 yards. Brady tacked on another touchdown early in the second quarter with a 54-yard catch and run to Sam Aiken.  Brady was not perfect in this one though, throwing two picks in the second quarter.  He finished the game with three TDs and two picks for 308 yards on 23/32 attempts.

The Buccaneers offense finally answered near the end of the half with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Josh Johnson to Antonio Bryant, making it 21-7 at the break.  That would be the only score of the game for the Bucs, as the Patriots defense did a good job forcing Johnson into a lot of mistakes.  Johnson threw three interceptions and one touchdown, on 9/26 attempts before being replaced in the 4th quarter by rookie Josh Freeman.  Laurence Maroney had a touchdown for the Pats, but only got 43 yards on the ground in 13 carries (3.3 avg).  I would expect more yards out of Maroney against such a bad Bucs defense.  The Patriots have a bye this week, but they look like they are back in that 2007 groove, and will look to continue their dominant play November 8th against the Miami Dolphins.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (4-2) put on quite a show against the Tennessee Titans (0-6) in a snow-filled excuse for a football game.  It was like the Patriots were playing a high school team, as they put up a franchise record in total points (59) and total yards (619).  Brady also set an NFL record with most passing touchdowns in a quarter, when he threw five TD’s in the second quarter.  Brady ended his game early as the Patriots were embarrassing the Titans and finished with 380 yards and six touchdowns on 29/34 (85%) attempts.  Brady has finally returned to his 2007 form, and hopefully he can keep it up against better opponents.

The Patriots defense held the Titans scoreless and made Kerry Collins look awful (-7 passing yards), but they gave up way too many yards on the ground.  Titans running back Chris Johnson rushed for 128 yards on 17 carries.  Brian Hoyer came in for Brady in the 3rd quarter and didn’t miss a beat.  The rookie back-up went 9/11 for 52 yards.  The Patriots were very impressive in this win, but the Titans are a really bad football team.  The Patriots need to make sure they do not let this huge win get to their heads, which I am sure Bill Belichick will not let happen.  They take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.

The New England Patriots (3-2) failed to score any points in the second half and fell to the Denver Broncos in OT Sunday on the road.  The Broncos have usually been relying on their running game to win games this year, but with the Patriots building an early lead they were forced to throw the ball early and often.  The Patriots defense did not do a good job holding on to their lead and let the Broncos score 13 unanswered points.  They made Kyle Orton look like John Elway, as the Broncos’ quarterback threw two touchdowns and 330 yards on 35/48 attempts (73%).  Tom Brady looked like the old Kyle Orton, missing receivers all day and finishing with 215 yards on 19/33 attempts (58%).  Brady did have two touchdowns, but he had two key separate plays that would have been touchdowns had he made an accurate throw.  He overthrew a wide open Randy Moss in the endzone and under-threw a streaking Wes Welker, who had nobody between him and the goal line had Brady hit him in stride.

The Patriots are looking less and less like the dominant team of recent years and Tom Brady is still rusty.  The defense gave up a total of 424 yards and did not come out focused in the second half.  Orton hit receiver Brandon Marshall late in the 4th to tie the game, and Matt Prader hit a 41 yard field goal to win it in overtime.  The Patriots need to realize you can’t win games on reputation in the NFL and they need Tom Brady to step his play up.  Good thing they are taking on the winless Tennessee Titans at home on Sunday.

The Patriots fought tooth and nail in this game to prevail at home.  Tom Brady had a solid game completing 21 of 32 passes for 258 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 11 yards (2.2 ypc) with a TD run.  All was not good for Brady as he lost a fumble that was recovered by the Ravens in the end zone for a TD.  Fred Taylor rushed for 25 yards on 7 carries (3.6 ypc) to led the Patriots on the ground and he also caught 1 pass for 13 yards.  Sammy Morris was also somewhat effective carrying the ball 6 times for 21 yards (3.5 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg) in this game.  Randy Moss led the Patriots in this game with 50 yards receiving on 3 grabs (16.7 avg) with a TD.  Wes Welker was also busy with 6 grabs for 48 yards (8.0 avg).  The Patriots finished up with 319 total yards on offense (85 rushing, 234 passing) in this game.

Brandon Meriweather led the way on defense for the Patriots in this game with 9 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  DE Mike Wright had the best game of his NFL career today as he finished with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 QB hits.  The Ravens finished up with 363 total yards on offense in this game (116 rushing, 247 passing).  The Patriots are now 3-1 on the season as they are now tied with the Jets for first place in the AFC East.

The Patriots won this game by controlling the football with short passes and the running game as they had possession of the ball for 39:49.  Tom Brady was effective completing 25 of 42 passes for 277 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Fred Taylor showed he still has a lot left to offer the Patriots as he rushed for 105 yards on 21 carries (5.0 ypc) with a TD run.  In the passing game it was all about Randy Moss who caught 10 passes for 116 yards (11.6 avg).  The Patriots finished up with 445 total yards in this game on offense (168 rushing, 277 passing). 

Safety Brandon Meriweather and LB Gary Guyton led the way for the Patriots on defense yesterday with 7 tackles apiece.  The Patriots held the Falcons to only 257 total yards on offense (58 rushing, 199 passing) yesterday.  The Patriots are now back on track with a 2-1 record on the season.