NFL

Patriots 34, Chiefs 3

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — 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 Monday night.

Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and Kyle Arrington had two interceptions, helping the Patriots (7-3) increase their AFC East lead to two games.

The Chiefs (4-6) 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.

The Patriots had their second straight dominant game after beating the New York Jets, 37-16. The Chiefs lost their third straight.

Developments

No structural damage to Hasselbeck’s arm: Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has no structural damage to his right forearm and elbow. Whether he plays against Tampa Bay will be determined by how comfortable the veteran is throwing the ball.

Coach Mike Munchak said Monday’s tests were negative and Hasselbeck’s injury is more of a muscle strain in the forearm. Hasselbeck was hurt during the 23-17 loss in Atlanta when he hit his arm on a defender’s helmet.

Peterson has ankle sprain: Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a high ankle sprain that will put him in a walking boot this week, leaving his availability for Sunday’s game at Atlanta in question.

Coach Leslie Frazier said Monday that Peterson has a Grade 1 sprain, the least severe of the three categories.

Leinart practices with Texans: Matt Leinart practiced for the first time as the Texans’ starting quarterback on Monday, with Matt Schaub likely out for the season with a right foot injury.

The Texans (7-3) are coming off a bye week and play at Jacksonville (3-7) on Sunday.

Leinart has been anxiously awaiting a chance to start again ever since he was demoted in Arizona in 2008 in favor of Kurt Warner. He signed with the Texans after the Cardinals cut him in September 2010.

Cutler has broken thumb: The Bears are confident Jay Cutler will return this season from a broken thumb on his right throwing hand, so there was a glimmer of hope to go with the big chill that just blew through Chicago.

Even so, this is a major blow for the Bears.

Cutler needs surgery and will be out “for an extended time,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. He would not say when the operation will take place, just “hopefully fairly quick,” and provided few details.

With Cutler out, the Bears will turn to backup Caleb Hanie against Oakland this weekend.

Jets’ coach fined: Rex Ryan will not appeal a $75,000 fine issued by the NFL on Monday for using profanity while angrily responding to a fan at halftime of New York’s 37-16 loss to New England on Nov. 13.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) It was a surprisingly dominating win over a major rival that had won three straight games. Now the New England Patriots enter the soft part of their schedule.

Only one of their remaining seven opponents has a winning record. And on Monday night the Kansas City Chiefs are expected to start a quarterback against them who has thrown just 13 NFL passes.

But just as the Patriots 37-16 beating of the New York Jets on Sunday night was unexpectedly one-sided, so might a big underdog stun the Patriots, especially if they dwell on their latest success.

“No matter what happened last week, whether we won, lost, at home or on the road or in London, it doesn’t matter. Once that game is over we have to put it behind us,” New England coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “Now it’s about preparing for Kansas City, what they do, what their schemes are, what their players are, what their tendencies are in certain coaching decision situations that we’ll have to make.”

The Chiefs are 4-5 and lost quarterback Matt Cassel to an injury to his throwing hand that coach Todd Haley said could end his season. It occurred late in Kansas City’s 17-10 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Tyler Palko played the last offensive series and was informed by quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn on Monday he’ll likely get his first NFL start against the Patriots.

That would scrap a meeting between Tom Brady and Cassel, his former backup who played unexpectedly well in 2008 after Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener.

Seems like an easy win for the Patriots, right?

Brady doesn’t think so, despite his team’s 6-3 record that puts it in sole possession of first place in the AFC East. The Patriots started Sunday tied with the Jets and Buffalo Bills, who both lost.

“There’s still a lot of football left to be played. Every team is still going to make improvements,” Brady said Monday on his contractually obligated appearance on WEEI radio. “And some teams are just going to continue to ride out the season and they can start thinking about next year.

“We want to be one of those teams that really starts building and getting better every week. I thought last night was a good step in the second half of the year. But obviously, the week starts again today. We’ve got to move on to the next game and start getting prepared for a team that we haven’t played in a few years.”

Going into Sunday’s games, the Patriots had the NFL’s lowest-ranked defense, a spot they’ve held most of the year. And they were without two key injured players, safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes.

So safety Sterling Moore and linebacker Jeff Tarpinian got their first pro starts. Both were undrafted rookie free agents this year and Belichick had some concerns how they would perform in key roles.

“What happens when the lights go on, you never really know for sure,” he said. “You have to wait and see that. Jeff has been playing all year in the kicking game, so we’ve seen that. Sterling really hasn’t really had a lot of opportunity to play.”

Both did well, although cornerback Devin McCourty suffered a right shoulder injury when hit by Moore in the first half as both tried to tackle wide receiver Plaxico Burress. McCourty didn’t return and Belichick said Monday he had no update on his condition.

Losing McCourty for any games would be a blow, especially if Chung remains sidelined with a foot injury. They’re the Patriots’ two best defensive backs. Three others are in their first season with the team.

Still, the makeshift secondary played well enough and was helped by pressure put on quarterback Mark Sanchez. Defensive end Andre Carter had a team record 4 1-2 sacks.

“Andre has a good combination of speed and power and technique that he uses,” Belichick said. “He uses all those.”

Linebacker Rob Ninkovich had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

“He was going to that area of the field and then read the play,” Belichick said of the touchdown runback. “It’s kind of where he was going, but he definitely did a nice job of reading Sanchez, seeing the throw.”

The Patriots trailed 9-6 before Brady threw the first of two touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski with 9 seconds left in the first half. They led 13-9 at halftime and never trailed again.

They had plenty to celebrate after sweeping the season series against the Jets.

Now they play six straight games against teams with losing records: Kansas City, at Philadelphia (3-6), Indianapolis (0-10), at Washington (3-6), at Denver (4-5) and Miami (2-7). They finish at home against Buffalo (5-4).

“It happens every week in the NFL,” Brady told WEEI. “You look up at the scoreboard during the game – or for us, because we played on Sunday night, we saw a lot of those games. And it’s like: `God, how did they lose?’ Or, `Wow, they beat so-and-so.’

“One team one week looks great, and then they play another team. Other than the Packers this year and the 49ers, you really don’t know what you’re getting every week.”

And, Belichick said, “I think every week is a test, absolutely. Last week was a test. This week is a test.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BOSTON (CBS) – When the New England Patriots open their season against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, there are several key matchups they have to worry about.

Luckily for them, they have a few guys that will give the Dolphins problems as well.

Tom Brady vs. Miami’s Defense

The Patriots quarterback has enjoyed success recently against Miami, winning five of his last six against the Dolphins. Last season Brady completed 29 of his 40 passes against Miami, throwing for three touchdowns and no picks. He admitted the offense did not play as well as he would have liked in New England’s 41-14 Monday night win at Sun Life Stadium in 2010, saying earlier this week his special teams bailed them out with two touchdowns.

Brady will look to extend his streak of passes without an interception as he enters 2011 with 335 straight regular season attempts without a pick. Not to jinx it, but Brady has thrown 16 career INTs to the Dolphins, the most by any opposing team.

Read: Levan Reid’s Patriots Blog

Miami touts a very young and effective secondary with Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. They allowed just over 200 yards passing per game last season, ranking in the top ten. 

“They’re very good and I think we’ve played them plenty of times to understand that,” Brady said of the secondary that accounted for two interceptions and 21 pass deflections in 2010. “Vontae is really a ball hawk. He’s made some great interceptions against us, especially. He’s very talented. He has all the tools of a great player. And Sean Smith’s another – both of those guys are the same age – he’s long, he’s tall, he’s physical, [and] he covers well. For a big guy, he moves very well. So they do; they have two very good corners.”

In his two year career, Davis has two interceptions on Brady. He even boasted him and Smith as the best cornerback duo in the NFL, much to the chagrin of the Jets Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

Brady will also have to worry about one of his biggest nemesis’ in the NFL: Jason Taylor. The future Hall of Famer leads all active players with 132.5 sacks, 10.5 of them coming against Brady.

Wes Welker vs. Miami

Welker has put up some great numbers against his former team. In seven games against the Dolphins, the Patriots receiver has 55 receptions, 683 yards and two touchdowns. His 98 receiving yards per game average is the best against any team he has faced more than once.

Welker also has three 100-yard games against Miami; a 138 yard performance in 2007, a 120-yard game in 2008, and a 10 receptions, 167 yard afternoon in 2009.

Brandon Marshall vs. Patriots Secondary

The Patriots will have receivers Devon Bess and Brian Hartline along with tight end Anthony Fasano to worry about, but the main target of the Miami Offense is Brandon Marshall. After a disappointing first season with the Dolphins, Marshall will be looking to get his 2011 campaign off to a big start. At 6-4, 230 pounds Marshall is a big body that can make big plays. In two games against New England in 2010, Marshall had 10 receptions for 147 yards. Career against the Patriots, he has 24 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

The numbers aren’t great, but he will be a threat to take it to the house on Monday night.

“He’s a very big target,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “He had a big play against somebody down the sideline, went up, took the ball away from the defender, broke a couple of tackles [and] went in the end zone.”

“He doesn’t just make great catches 50-60 yards down the field. He turns catches that are maybe 5-10 yards into a 70-yard touchdown,” corner Devin McCourty said earlier in the week. “As a defense you have to be prepared and ready to get him on the ground when he catches the ball.”

Read: Patriots Name Six Team Captains

“There are times that it looks like he’s covered and then not only does he end up with the ball but he ends up with a lot of yards after that because he’s a hard guy to bring down,” said Belichick. “We’ve had a tough time with him before and he’s looked good in the preseason. He can definitely go up and get the ball and he’s very physical guy that’s hard to tackle.”

Marshall finished with seven receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown in the preseason.

They played well against him last season, but the Patriots secondary will likely have some issues with him as they scrape off some rust.

Reggie Bush vs. Patriots Defense

Believe it or not, Monday night will be Reggie Bush’s first career game against the Patriots. Now he is on the Dolphins, and will get that shot twice a year.

The Patriots may have never seen the dynamic back before, but they know what he can bring to a game.

“It’s like having a receiver in the backfield. He’s a very dynamic player,” said Belichick of Bush. “There are a lot of things he can do that not many other players can do so he’s a tough guy to defend.”

“He can take a three-yard check down to the house,” said linebacker Jerod Mayo. “You have to stay on him; he adds a whole other dynamic to the offense.”

“Reggie does it from a bunch of different angles; not just getting handoffs (but) also in the passing game,” said McCourty. “He’s a fast explosive player. You can’t give him much room out there; he’s a guy that can make a lot of plays.”

Bush never lived up to the hype after being drafted second overall by the Saints. But can still score at any time, if not in the run game, in the return game. Bush has returned four punts for touchdowns in his career.

Tune in the to Patriots season opener at 7pm Monday night on 98.5 The Sports Hub with pregame coverage beginning at 4pm. After the game, tune in to the Postgame show on 98.5, and to Patriots Fifth Quarter on TV38.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Due to power outages that have affected Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots moved offsite on Monday, and canceled their media availability.

The outages also led to the cancellation of coach Bill Belichick’s media conference call on Sunday, though that is slated to be made up on Monday afternoon.

The Patriots had off on Sunday, after Saturday’s 34-10 loss to the Lions in Detroit. They conclude the preseason vs. the New York Giants on Thursday night at home.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More: New England Patriots

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots did not hold a practice on Sunday, but the team has released the schedule for public practices at Patriots Training Camp on Monday, August 8 and Tuesday, August 9.

The Patriots’ website says that the team will hold practice from 1:30 p.m. EDT to 4:00 p.m. EDT on both days. In addition, the ‘Patriots Experience’ will be open from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

As usual, the schedule is subject to change. For up-to-date information on practice schedules, call the Patriots’ training camp hotline at 1 (508) 549-0001 or visit the training camp page on their website.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit.