Patriots Game 14: Patriots 49 - Raiders 26
The Good:
WR Randy Moss caught two of Matt Cassel's career-high four touchdown passes in his first game against the Raiders since his trade to New England last season.
LaMont Jordan added a 49-yard touchdown run against his former team.
The Patriots became the first team this season to score touchdowns on its first four offensive possessions. Cassel threw TD passes to Kevin Faulk, Moss and Welker, with Morris also scoring on a 29-yard run.
Ellis Hobbs returned a kick 95 yards for another score, giving New England five touchdowns in the first 17:14 of the game.
Sammy Morris (117 yards, 14 carries, TD), LaMont Jordan (97 yards, 12 carries, TD) and Kevin Faulk (45 yards, 6 carries) lead a dominating running attack.
Receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss team up for 12 receptions for 135 yards and three touchdowns.
Rookie cornerback Jonathan Wilhite recorded his first career interception when he picked off a JaMarcus Russell pass inside the Patriots’ 5-yard line in the second quarter.
Vince Wilfork blocked an Oakland extra point in the third quarter. The blocked extra point was the first by the Patriots since Oct. 6, 2002, when Tebucky Jones blocked an Olindo Mare extra point in the Patriots’ 26-13 loss at Miami.
The Bad:
Tight end Benjamin Watson can't hold on to the ball in the second quarter, as it bounces off his chest and leads to an interception.
The Ugly:
Kickoff coverage team Unit comprised of Heath Evans, Larry Izzo, Ray Ventrone, Kelley Washington, Mike Richardson, Lewis Sanders, Matthew Slater, Sam Aiken, Antwain Spann, Brandon Meriweather and Stephen Gostkowski surrenders a Justin Miller 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Final Thoughts:
"I just can’t say enough about Matt Cassel. I’ve been through that myself a couple years ago, I know what that’s like. I thought he did a great job in his preparation, his focus, and showed a lot of commitment to the team. He carried us a long way today. He deserves all the accolades he gets. It was a tough situation for him but he really stood up and met the challenge and played well in not the greatest conditions out there." -- New England Coach Bill Belichick
Matt Cassel's play helped keep New England (9-5) in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with Miami and the Jets. The Patriots are also tied with Baltimore for the second wild-card spot as they try to make it back to the playoffs despite losing star quarterback Tom Brady to a season-ending injury in the opener.
Wes Welker, who had a franchise-record 112 catches in 2007, became the first player to have back-to-back 100-catch seasons with the Patriots and became the eighth player in NFL history to achieve the feat.
On a 14-yard reception from Matt Cassel in the third quarter, Randy Moss moved into the top 10 on the NFL’s all-time receiving yardage list.
The Patriots’ victory over Oakland was Bill Belichick’s 100th regular-season victory as Patriots head coach.
The Patriots improved to 22-2 in the month of December since 2003. New England has won 10 straight December games.
The Patriots improved to 9-5 on the season and have won at least nine games for the eighth straight season.
Matt Cassel threw four touchdown passes, setting a new single-game career high and tying the sixth-best single-game touchdown performance in team history.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment