Tom Brady threw for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Patriots. Host New England rebounded from an embarrassing defeat by handing Cincinnati its first loss in lopsided fashion. Stevan Ridley rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown while tight ends Rob Gronkowski (six receptions, 100 yards) and Tim Wright ( five catches, 85 yards) each caught a scoring pass as the Patriots won their 11th straight home game as they bounced back from Monday’s 41-14 drubbing at Kansas City. Stephen Goskowski kicked five field goals and Shane Vereen added 90 yards rushing as New England rolled up 505 total yards against the league’s top scoring defense. Andy Dalton completed 15 of 24 passes for 204 yards and two TDs for Cincinnati, which had allowed only 33 points in its first three games and was the league’s last unbeaten team.
A.J. Green made five catches for 81 yards and a TD while Mohamed Sanu added five receptions for 70 yards and a score,Trailing 20-3 at halftime, Dalton fired a 37 yard scoring strike to Sanu early in the third, but the Patriots answered with two touchdowns in six seconds as Brady tossed a 16 yard TD pass to Gronkowski before Kyle Arrington recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 9 yards for a 34-10 cushion with 6:00 left in the third. Dalton came right back with a 17-yard scoring pass to Green, but Gostkowski converted from 23 yards six seconds into the fourth to make it 37-17. New England went 80 yards in 10 plays on the game’s opening drive that culminated with Ridley bulling in from the 1. Wright caught a 30-yard pass to set up the first TD and capped the second possession by hauling in a 17-yard scoring toss from Brady for a 14-0 lead less than 12 minutes into the contest before Gostkowski tacked on a pair of field goals to send the Patriots to the locker room with a 17-point lead.
Brady became the the sixth QB in league history to throw for more than 50,000 yards with his 27-yard completion to Gronkowski late in the opening quarter.
Belichick and Brady have to be pleased with the way their team came and performed on their home field Sunday night. It finally looks like they have somewhat got their offensive woes together and clicking on all cylinders. Brady said “It was a long week. We dug deep. I’m proud of everybody.” As he should be. Brady also got plenty of help from his defense, which allowed just 121 yards in the first half, and his special teams as Kyle Arrington scored on a 9-yard return after recovering Brandon Tate’s fumble on a kickoff.
This would of been one fun night to be in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots I would expect to be keeping this offensive moving into next week at Buffalo. While the Bengals now accepting their first loss of the season takes on a tough match up with Carolina at home.
Keep watching next week and see if Brady and the Patriots can keep their offensive on the move.
