Skip to main content

New England Patriots Game Recaps

MIAMI (AP) -Tom Brady shook off a rare turnover to throw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots started with a victory for the eighth consecutive season Monday night by beating the Miami Dolphins 38-24.

Defensive end Jared Odrick picked off a deflected pass to set up a Miami touchdown and end Brady's NFL-record streak of 358 passes without an interception.

New England totaled 622 yards, the most in franchise history and the most allowed by Miami. Brady's performance overshadowed Miami's Chad Henne, who threw for a career-high 416 yards.

The 906 net yards passing by both teams was an NFL record.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 423 yards six days after setting a single-game team record of 517 in leading New England.

Brady had three touchdown passes and tied for the third most yards passing in club history, going 31 of 40 with no interceptions as the Patriots scored on each of their four first-half possessions.

The Chargers turned the ball over inside the Patriots 35 three times, leading to 17 points. They also were stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the 1, and the Patriots started a 99-yard drive that ended with one of Brady's two scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski.


ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Rian Lindell hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired and Buffalo snapped a 15-game losing streak against New England and lifted its record to 3-0.

Buffalo was in dramatic fashion, overcoming a 21-0 second-quarter deficit. It was the second straight week the Bills rallied; they overcame a 21-3 deficit in a 38-35 win over Oakland last week.

Ryan Fitzpatrick went 27 of 40 for 369 yards with two TDs as Buffalo beat its AFC East rival for the first time since the 2003 opener. It was the third-longest losing streak against one opponent in NFL history.

Tom Brady went 30 of 45 for 386 yards and four scores for New England. Despite setting a league record for most yards passing over a three-game stretch, Brady matched a career high with four interceptions. Among them was Drayton Florence's 27-yarder for a TD.


OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Tom Brady bounced back from a four-interception performance by throwing for 226 yards, two touchdowns and committing no turnovers.

Wes Welker caught nine passes for 158 yards and a score, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley adding rushing touchdowns and the Patriots played a mostly mistake-free game.

This time the interception that changed the game was made by New England instead of thrown by Brady. Patrick Chung got a gift-wrapped pick in the end zone late in the first half when Jason Campbell inexplicably threw the ball right to the safety with no receiver in the area for the Raiders.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns.

Tom Brady had another strong game, completing 24 of 33 passes for 321 yards and one touchdown as the Patriots scored at least 30 points for the 13th straight regular-season game.

Meanwhile, New York's Mark Sanchez had another tough one, passing for just 166 yards against the team that entered with the NFL's lowest-ranked defense.

In the last meeting between the Jets and Patriots, Sanchez outplayed Brady in New York's 28-21 playoff win on Jan. 16, adding to the fierce rivalry between the AFC East teams.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left to rally New England.

Dan Bailey's 26-yard field goal had broken a 13-13 tie with 5:13 left. Each team ran one series before the Patriots got the ball after a punt with 2:30 remaining. Brady then completed eight of nine passes for 78 yards on an 80-play drive capped by his pass to Hernandez in the middle of the end zone.

New England won despite its first two lost fumbles of the season and Brady's two interceptions.


PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers finally found a way to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 25-17.

Roethlisberger completed 36 of 50 passes and led the Steelers on a series of clock-chewing drives, effectively keeping Brady and the NFL's top-ranked offense off the field. Pittsburgh held the ball for more than 39 minutes and survived a late rally to win its fourth straight following a 2-2 start.

Brady passed for two touchdowns but threw for a season-low 198 yards and couldn't get into any sort of rhythm while losing to the Steelers for just the second time in his career.

The Patriots drew within six when Brady hit Aaron Hernandez for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 2:35 remaining, but a last-gasp drive ended when Brady was sacked and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety with 8 seconds to play.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Eli Manning hit Jake Ballard for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left, repeating a Giants' comeback victory similar to the 2008 Super Bowl between the teams.

The Giants won that one, 17-14, on Manning's 13-yard scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining. This time, it looked like the Patriots would win with a comeback of their own when Tom Brady threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Rob Gronkowski, making it 20-17 with 1:36 to go.

But the Giants had enough time to move 80 yards on eight plays - helped by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against the Patriots that put the ball at the 1 with 30 seconds to play. Three plays later, Manning found Ballard in the back left corner of the end zone.


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to Rob Gronkowski, and New England took control of the AFC East with a convincing victory over New York.

After the Jets cut it to 23-16 early in the fourth quarter, Brady coolly led the Patriots down the field on an 84-yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch.

New England linebacker Rob Ninkovich sealed the victory - which snapped a two-game skid - on the Jets' next possession with a 12-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the final quarter.

The game was a showdown for the top spot in the division, but it was no contest as the Patriots took over sole possession by snapping the Jets' three-game winning streak. ---

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and the New England Patriots shook off a sluggish start to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 34-3 on a Monday night.

Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and Kyle Arrington had two interceptions, helping the Patriots increased their AFC East lead to two games.

The Chiefs weren't expected to do much on offense behind untested quarterback Tyler Palko, making his first career start with Matt Cassel injured. And they didn't, managing just a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with 1:30 left in the first quarter for their only lead.


PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in a game that all but ended the Eagles' playoff hopes.

Filling in for the injured Michael Vick for the second straight game, Vince Young couldn't keep the Eagles in contention despite a career-best 400 yards passing. The Eagles fell to 4-7 in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.

Down 10-0 early, the AFC East-leading Patriots rallied behind Brady. New England scored on five of its next six possessions, excluding a kneel-down at the end of the first half.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Rob Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes then scored on a lateral and New England then withstood a fourth-quarter rally to keep Indianapolis winless.

Trailing 31-3, the Colts (0-12) rallied with a touchdown run by Donald Brown and two scoring passes from Dan Orlovsky to Pierre Garcon, the last a 40-yarder with 36 seconds to go. But Deion Branch recovered the onside kick and Tom Brady took a knee on the final play.

The Patriots posted their fourth straight win and improved to 38-5 in December starting in 2001.


LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Tom Brady threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns, and Rob Gronkowski set an NFL single-season record for most touchdown catches by a tight end as New England won its fifth straight.

Gronkowski snagged his 14th and 15th scoring receptions, moving him past Antonio Gates and Vernon Davis. Gates had 13 in 2004, and Davis matched that total in 2009.

The Patriots again overcame their bend-but-don't-break defense. The Redskins drove to the New England 5-yard line late before Rex Grossman's pass went off Santana Moss' hands and was intercepted by Jerod Mayo with 22 seconds to play.


DENVER (AP) - Tom Brady and the Patriots shut down Tim Tebow and clinched a playoff berth with their sixth straight victory.

The Patriots won another AFC East title by bouncing back from an early 17-6 deficit and an awful first quarter in which they were outgained on the ground 167 yards to 4.

This time, there was no last-minute magic from Tebow, Denver's enigmatic quarterback who had guided the Broncos to four straight fourth-quarter comebacks and six straight wins.

Instead of another slow start followed by a fantastic finish, the Broncos started out fast and then fizzled. They scored on their first three possessions and then were done in by a trio of second-quarter turnovers.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and New England rallied to clinch a playoff bye.

The Patriots trailed 17-0 at halftime then scored on their first five possessions in the second half. The Dolphins helped when Matt Moore lost a fumble at his 38-yard line then threw an interception that Devin McCourty picked off at the Patriots 2.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a three-touchdown deficit as they scored 49 straight points and clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Brady finished the regular season with the second most yards passing in NFL history, 5,235, after throwing for 338. Drew Brees, who last week broke Dan Marino's record of 5,084 with the Miami Dolphins in 1984, added 389 for the New Orleans Saints and ended with 5,486.

The Patriots (13-3) finished the season with eight straight wins. But for the second straight game, they fell behind early. They beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 after trailing 17-0 at halftime then rallied after the Bills scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, drawing boos from the home fans.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Tom Brady threw six touchdowns passes, five in the first half, and put the New England Patriots into the AFC championship game after roughing up Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos 45-10.

The 35-point romp snapped a three-game postseason losing streak, two of those at Gillette Stadium, and lifted the Patriots to the verge of their fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 seasons. They've won it three times.

Brady even punted with 2:56 remaining, 48 yards on third down.

And so ended one of the season's most exciting story lines - one that caught the nation's attention and began when Denver was 1-4 and made Tebow a starter. The one-time third-stringer promptly won six in a row and seven of eight, with a string of stunning comebacks, and the Broncos ended up backing into the AFC West title.


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - The New England Patriots stunned the Ravens 23-20 in the AFC championship game after Baltimore's Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.

Brady scored the winning touchdown when he leaped over the vaunted Ravens defense in the fourth quarter.

His 1-yard dive brought the Patriots (15-3) from behind, and the maligned New England defense made several key plays, including shutting down Ray Rice, the league's total yardage leader.

Brady guided the Patriots to their fifth AFC championship in 11 seasons. The Patriots chase their fourth Super Bowl trophy in Brady and coach Bill Belichick's tenure in New England.