The 2012 NFL schedule for the New England Patriots has just been released, with the team opening at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, September 9. What follows are the top three storylines coming out of the schedule.

Thanksgiving with the Jets

One of the more unique games on the schedule this year is a Thanksgiving Day matchup against Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. It is good to finally see a game worth watching on Thanksgiving, and I am glad the NFL put two division rivals together for what should be a great game. It should be interesting to see how the Jets’ offense will stack up against New England’s defense, especially when it comes to snaps taken by Tim Tebow.

Difficult Finishing Stretch

The most difficult stretch on the relatively manageable schedule for the Patriots in 2012 is from weeks 12 to 15, and even that should be favorable for the team. During that stretch the Patriots will be playing the Jets, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and San Francisco 49ers; the favorable aspect of it is that New England will get both the Texans and 49ers at home, in what will likely be freezing temperatures in the middle of December.

Featured Matchup: Baltimore Ravens Week 3

The most important matchup to watch for the Patriots is week 3 against the Ravens. It is arguably going to be the most difficult team they will face in the regular season, and New England will be on the road as well, making it that much more difficult. With the additions of Brandon Lloyd and Anthony Gonzalez to go along with Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Chad Johnson/Ochocinco, the key for the Patriots will be attacking the Raven’s secondary, which won’t be an easy task to do by any means.

New England Patriots 2012 Schedule

1 – at Tennessee Titans September 9

2 – vs. Arizona Cardinals September 16

3 – at Baltimore Ravens September 23

4 – at Buffalo Bills September 30

5 – vs. Denver Broncos October 7

6 – at Seattle Seahawks October 14

7 – vs. New York Jets October 21

8 – at St. Louis Rams October 28

9 – Bye

10 – vs. Buffalo Bills November 11

11 – vs. Indianapolis Colts November 18

12 – at New York Jets November 22

13 – at Miami Dolphins December 2

14 – vs. Houston Texans December 10

15 – vs. San Francisco 49ers December 16

16 – at Jacksonville Jaguars December 23

17 – vs. Miami Dolphins December 30

Ryan Kekoufski is a lifelong New England Patriots fan. He covers sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and currently resides in Virginia.

New England Patriots

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

New York Jets

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

Miami Dolphins

Home: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers

Buffalo Bills

Home: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

Away: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers

Unless you want to be on the next “Remember last year” blog post, it would be wise to withhold predictions. It’s too early for that. Rosters will change dramatically after the draft and free agency. Therefore, what looks like an easy matchup today may not be in September.

The long connection came early in the second quarter of the Patriots’ 38-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Branch ran out of gas and was tackled at the Eagles 1-yard line, but BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for the touchdown on the next play. Suddenly, the Patriots had a 14-10 lead and never trailed again.

Branch finished with six catches for 125 yards, one of his best games of the season.

“Deion is a very instinctive receiver,” coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “He has a great sense of timing, of when the quarterback is ready to throw the ball, when he needs to be open, how to get open. Tom, from his position, kind of has that same sense of what the receiver would expect him to do and what he should do in certain situations and that’s almost always what Deion would do.”

The Patriots improved to 8-3, tied for the best record in the AFC. They should improve on that Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts (0-11) visit. New England has scored the most points in the AFC. Indianapolis has allowed the most in the NFL.

So the Patriots, who have dominated their last three opponents, figure to do that again.

Belichick, though, likely will emphasize the strengths of the Colts, not the season-long absence of Peyton Manning.

“Schematically, (the Colts) look pretty much the same as they usually do,” he said. “Obviously, a couple of changes in personnel, but a team we always have trouble with.”

Eight of the Colts losses have been by more than seven points. The Patriots have the passing game to win by a lot more than that.

At the start of the season, Welker and Gronkowski were the big producers. In the first three games, Welker had 31 catches for 458 yards and Gronkowski scored five touchdowns. Branch started off well with 15 catches for 222 yards in the first two games but managed just a total of one in the next two.

Welker leads the NFL with 82 receptions and Gronkowski is tied for fifth with 60 and second with 11 touchdown catches. Even tight end Aaron Hernandez, with 47 receptions, is ahead of Branch’s 45.

But Branch can still help Brady turn a broken play into a big one.

On Sunday, Brady threw for the first time in his career to a wide-open Tiquan Underwood, who had just been signed. The receiver couldn’t latch onto the ball.

“It would have been a tough play,” Belichick said. “It could have been a little better executed all the way around. I thought he ran a good route. The ball was a little inside.”

On the very next play, Brady turned to a receiver he has plenty of experience with — Branch.

The quarterback scrambled to his left as Branch ran 13 yards down the left sideline and stopped at the first-down marker. That’s when Brady pointed. That was Branch’s cue to cut inside cornerback Brandon Hughes, who played more because cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was limited by a knee injury.

Branch caught it at the Eagles’ 45 and nearly went all the way.

“It wasn’t a play that I made,” he said. “It was a play that (Brady) made with his feet.”

Brady isn’t known for his speed, but he’s good at escaping the rush.

“I think just about anybody who would evaluate Tom would say he’s probably got as good a pocket presence as just about any quarterback,” Belichick said. “He has very good pocket awareness and quickness in the pocket in a short space. I think that’s one of his big strengths.”

Brady and Branch were teammates for five years before the receiver was traded to the Seattle Seahawks before the 2006 season in a contract dispute. The Patriots reacquired him after their fourth game last year and he finished with 48 catches for 706 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games for them.

“You have two smart guys, both very instinctive players, that if something comes up that you haven’t done or talked about before, I’d say both of them probably would do the right thing,” Belichick said. “Or what you would want them to do if you haven’t told them what to do.

“Certainly, the experience and reps they’ve had together (in) practice, games and walkthroughs and talking about situations and talking about things that come up, I’m sure that’s all added to it. And of course, actually going out there and doing it on the field in live game situations, under pressure, adds to it as well.”

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

Rob Maaddi
AP Pro Football Writer

The way Tom Brady was getting everyone involved, it’s a surprise no linemen or linebackers caught passes.

Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat the Eagles 38-20 Sunday in a rematch of the 2005 Super Bowl.

Filling in for the injured Michael Vick for the second straight game, Vince Young couldn’t keep Philadelphia’s fading playoff hopes alive despite throwing for a career-best 400 yards passing.

The AFC East-leading Patriots (8-3) stayed in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the conference behind a surgical-like effort from Brady.

The six-time Pro Bowl quarterback finished 24 of 34, Deion Branch had 125 yards receiving and Wes Welker caught eight passes for 115 yards and two TDs. Brady’s favorite targets, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, also chipped in.

Gronkowski caught his 11th TD pass and Hernandez had six receptions. BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored twice on the ground.

“It was more balanced today,” Brady said. “That’s how it needs to be. You have to run it. You have to throw it to everybody. We did a good job maximizing all the guys.”

The Eagles (4-7) are all-but-mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.

Angry fans made their feelings known about coach Andy Reid, chanting “Fire Andy!” in the second half.

“The way we played, I can understand,” Reid said.

The defending NFC East champions fell to 1-5 at home and have lost eight of nine at the Linc, including a playoff loss to Green Bay last January.
Down 10-0 early, the 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.

“Overall we did a great job of staying composed on the sideline and making the right adjustments and doing pretty much what we game planned for,” Branch said.

Brady and coach Bill Belichick improved to 4-0 against Reid’s Eagles, including a 24-21 win for their third NFL title in four years after the 2004 season.

“Tom did a good job really pressing the issue,” Belichick said. “He felt he had them on the run with some of the mismatches. Tom kept pressing it, guys got open and Tom did what he does best, finding the open guys.”
Young led the Eagles to a 17-10 win against the New York Giants last week in his first start in nearly a year. He put up decent numbers against the worst-ranked defense in the league, but couldn’t overcome another inept performance by the Eagles’ defense.

Young finished 26 of 48. It was just his third career game over 300 yards.
“Andy’s a tremendous guy,” Young said, defending Reid. “I have the utmost respect for him. Fans don’t understand some of the situations that goes on during the game. You can’t put it all on Andy. We’re going to always continue to keep fighting hard, playing hard for him.”

Michael Vick broke two lower ribs in a loss to Arizona on Nov. 13. He got hurt on the second play of that game and stayed in, but hasn’t practiced the past two weeks. It’s uncertain whether Vick can play when Philadelphia visits Seattle on Thursday night.

After a fast start, the Eagles fizzled.

Brady engineered a 70-yard drive capped by Green-Ellis’ 4-yard TD run to cut it to 10-7. The Pats converted two third downs on the drive, including two by penalty.

Helped by a missed call, New England’s defense then forced a three-and-out. Young was sacked by Rob Ninkovich, who spun the quarterback down by pulling his facemask. But the referees didn’t see it, eliciting loud boos from the crowd when the replay was shown on the video screen.

One play after just-signed Tiquan Underwood dropped a wide-open pass, Brady connected with Branch for 63 yards to the Eagles 1 on a third-and-13. Green-Ellis scored on the next play to put the Patriots up 14-10.

Antwaun Molden intercepted Young’s deep pass intended for DeSean Jackson on Philadelphia’s next play and returned it 27 yards to the Eagles 34. But the Patriots couldn’t convert the turnover into points. Stephen Gostkowski missed a 39-yard field goal wide right.

No problem for Brady and Co.

The Eagles went three-and-out again, and the Patriots went to a no-huddle when they got the ball back.

Welker blew past the secondary and Brady hit his wide-open target in stride for a 41-yard TD pass to give New England a 21-10 lead.

“He said if he got a certain look he could get it,” Brady said. “Afterward he came to the sideline and said, ‘I told you! I told you!’ It’s nice when they work out the way you talk about.”

Jackson dropped what could’ve been a 4-yard TD pass and the Eagles settled for a 22-yard field goal to get within 21-13.

It was the second time in the first half that Jackson appeared to shy away from contact and dropped a pass across the middle.

Fans let him hear it with a chorus of boos. Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, is in the final year of his rookie contract and has been unhappy that he didn’t get a new deal. He dropped a deep pass that could’ve been a TD in the third quarter, and was benched in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots got the ball to start the second half and Brady led them into the end zone again, tossing a 9-yard TD pass to Welker for a 31-13 lead.
Brady threw a 24-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski to extend it to 38-13 in the fourth quarter. Notes: Patriots WR Chad Ochocinco sat out with a hamstring injury. … Gostkowski’s miss was his second from under 40 yards in 14 attempts. … McCoy has 11 TDs rushing, five shy of breaking the single-season team record held by Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren. … Young’s last 300-yard game was against Arizona on Nov. 29, 2009. He threw for 387 yards in Tennessee’s 20-17 win.

PHILADELPHIA – Tom Brady had his way against the Philadelphia Eagles – again.

Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat the Eagles 38-20 Sunday in a rematch of the 2005 Super Bowl.

Filling in for the injured Michael Vick for the second straight game, Vince Young couldn’t keep Philadelphia’s fading playoff hopes alive despite throwing for a career-best 400 yards passing. The Eagles (4-7) are all-but-mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.

Angry fans made their feelings known about coach Andy Reid, chanting “Fire Andy!” in the second half.

The defending NFC East champions fell to 1-5 at home and have lost eight of nine at the Linc, including a playoff loss to Green Bay last January.

Down 10-0 early, the AFC East-leading Patriots rallied behind Brady. New England (8-3) scored on five of its next six possessions, excluding a kneel-down at the end of the first half.

Brady and coach Bill Belichick improved to 4-0 against Reid’s Eagles, including a 24-21 win for their third NFL title in four years after the 2004 season.

Brady finished 24 of 34, Deion Branch had 125 yards receiving and Wes Welker caught eight passes for 115 yards and two TDs.

Brady, a two-time NFL MVP, has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,232 yards, nine TDs and no interceptions in four career games against Philadelphia.

Young led the Eagles to a 17-10 win against the New York Giants last week in his first start in nearly a year. He put up decent numbers against the worst-ranked defense in the league, but couldn’t overcome another inept performance by the Eagles’ defense.

Young finished 26 of 48. It was just his third career game over 300 yards.

Vick broke two lower ribs in a loss to Arizona on Nov. 13. He got hurt on the second play of that game and stayed in, but hasn’t practiced the last two weeks. It’s uncertain whether Vick can play when Philadelphia visits Seattle on Thursday night.

After a fast start, the Eagles fizzled.

Brady engineered a 70-yard drive capped by BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ 4-yard TD run to cut it to 10-7. The Pats converted two third downs on the drive, including two by penalty.

Helped by a missed call, New England’s defense then forced a three-and-out. Young was sacked by Rob Ninkovich, who spun the quarterback down by pulling his facemask. But the referees didn’t see it, eliciting loud boos from the crowd when the replay was shown on the video screen.

One play after just-signed Tiquan Underwood dropped a wide-open pass, Brady connected with Branch for 63 yards to the Eagles 1 on a third-and-13. Green-Ellis scored on the next play to put the Patriots up 14-10.

Antwaun Molden intercepted Young’s deep pass intended for DeSean Jackson on Philadelphia’s next play and returned it 27 yards to the Eagles 34. But the Patriots couldn’t convert the turnover into points. Stephen Gostkowski missed a 39-yard field goal wide right.

No problem for Brady and Co.

The Eagles went three-and-out again, and the Patriots went to a no-huddle when they got the ball back.

Welker blew past the secondary and Brady hit his wide-open target in stride for a 41-yard TD pass to give New England a 21-10 lead.

DeSean Jackson dropped what should’ve been a 4-yard TD pass and the Eagles settled for a 22-yard field goal to get within 21-13.

It was the second time in the first half that Jackson appeared to shy away from contact and dropped a pass across the middle. Fans let him hear it with a chorus of boos. Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, is in the final year of his rookie contract and has been unhappy that he didn’t get a new deal. He dropped a deep pass that should’ve been a TD in the third quarter.

The Patriots got the ball to start the second half and Brady led them into the end zone again, tossing a 9-yard TD pass to Welker for a 31-13 lead.

Brady threw a 24-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski to extend it to 38-13 in the fourth quarter.

Young came out firing. He tossed a 22-yard pass to Brent Celek on the first play from scrimmage. Then he connected with Riley Cooper for 58 yards to the Patriots 4. LeSean McCoy ran in from the 2 to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

Young hit Jackson for a 44-yard gain to the Patriots 36 on the first play of the next series. The Eagles’ drive stalled at the 25 after three consecutive dropped passes, and Alex Henery kicked a 43-yard field goal to make it 10-0.

Besides Vick, the Eagles didn’t have leading receiver Jeremy Maclin or nickel cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha didn’t start after injuring his knee in practice on Thanksgiving Day, though he played in some situations.

The Patriots played without three starters: cornerback Devin McCourty, safety Patrick Chung and center Dan Connolly.

The NFL power rankings after Week 11 didn’t change too much on top. The Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens all won while the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints benefited from not playing. But there was more room below the top of the NFL power rankings for movement, as my Philadelphia Eagles took a few steps up after a season saving win.

The Eagles have gone back and forth from being in and out of the top 20 for weeks now, and they got back in after upsetting the New York Giants on Nov. 20. Of course, since the Eagles face the Patriots on Nov. 27, they can easily fall right back down.

At the least, the Eagles can be the best 4-6 team in the power rankings now, especially since the reeling San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers share that record. They are also still ahead of the 4-6 Seattle Seahawks and 3-7 Miami Dolphins – their next two opponents after the Patriots.

As such, a victory over New England will likely lift Philadelphia further up the NFL pecking order, with the expectation that it will go to 7-6 before long. That seems to be the case with every Eagles win, as it fuels hope that this is finally the time they will live up to expectations and make a late run. Of course, that wouldn’t be the case anymore this season if Vince Young(notes) didn’t have an 18 play drive to bail him and the Birds out.

While the Eagles go back and forth in the bottom tier of the NFL power rankings, teams with a real chance at the Super Bowl have been more stable. The Packers and 49ers are still way ahead of the pack and can pull away even further with statement wins on Thanksgiving. Since they face the Detroit Lions and Ravens respectively, the Thanksgiving lineup will have top 10 matchups before and after dinner.

However, the Eagles can still take Thanksgiving off – although they may have less reason to give thanks for facing the Patriots three days later. Just two weeks ago New England was feared to be finished, and now it is just feared all over again – to the point where it will take more than one 18 play drive to beat the Patriots.

Until that can be proven, here are the full NFL power rankings following Week 11.

1. Green Bay Packers: 10-0

2. San Francisco 49ers: 9-1

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-3

4. New England Patriots: 7-3

5. Baltimore Ravens: 7-3

6. New Orleans Saints: 7-3

7. Houston Texans: 7-3

8. Chicago Bears: 7-3

9. Detroit Lions: 7-3

10. New York Giants: 6-4

11. Dallas Cowboys: 6-4

12. Atlanta Falcons: 6-4

13. Cincinnati Bengals: 6-4

14. Oakland Raiders: 6-4

15. Denver Broncos: 5-5

16. New York Jets: 5-5

17. Buffalo Bills: 5-5

18. Tennessee Titans: 5-5

19. Philadelphia Eagles: 4-6

20. San Diego Chargers: 4-6

21. Kansas City Chiefs: 4-6

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-6

23. Cleveland Browns: 4-6

24. Seattle Seahawks: 4-6

25. Miami Dolphins: 3-7

26. Washington Redskins: 3-7

27. Arizona Cardinals: 3-7

28. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-7

29. Minnesota Vikings: 2-8

30. St. Louis Rams: 2-8

31. Carolina Panthers: 2-8

32. Indianapolis Colts: 0-10

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Giants-Eagles game heartbreaking in showing off good Eagles

Young does his best Tebow impression in Eagles win

Eagles can learn from Redskins scaring Cowboys

Eagles need Jackson to actually show up against Giants

Young to start redeeming himself for Eagles against Giants?

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New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is under fire again. This time a former player is tossing out accusations that the coach paid him to start fights. Defensive lineman Chad Eaton says that back in 1995 Belichick paid him to start skirmishes in practice. Belichick has since denied Eaton’s claim.

Eaton played in the National Football League for eight seasons. In 1995 he was on the Cleveland Browns practice squad, when the alleged payments occurred. He played again under Belichick in 2000 with the Patriots, but no mention is made of payments taking place then. In 2001 he was cut by the Patriots and latched on with the Seattle Seahawks.

Why this is news I’m really not sure. It happened 16 years ago with a totally different team. The fact that Eaton started fights isn’t a big deal, it is a tactic used by coaches for years, payment for the fights is definitely where the problem sits. Still this seems to me to be a non-story.

There is a statute of limitations on many crimes in the United States, maybe we should enact these same rules on accusations in sports. Last week it was Reggie Jackson going on about how Billy Martin used racist language while both were with the New York Yankees in the late 1970s. I guess Eaton should at least get points for not disparaging a guy 22 years after his death like Jackson did.

I lied to you all earlier in this article. I said I didn’t know why this was news, but I actually do. Flogging Bill Belichick and the Patriots is a sport in and of itself on the internet. People get super clever and call the coach Bill Belicheat and think they are the first to have come up with such brilliance. For us Patriots fans that is fine. Our team has won three Super Bowls and, as long as Tom Brady and Belichick are around, there is a possibility of another. So go ahead and pile on it doesn’t matter, everyone hates a winner.

As for Chad Eaton he got his 15 minutes of fame now he can fade back into obscurity. Exactly what he has gained from these revelations I’m not sure, but does anybody really like a rat?

Darren Pare has been a New England Patriots fan for over 25 years and Steve Grogan and Troy Brown are still his favorite players.

More from this contributor:

The Five Best Wide Receivers in Patriots History

The Five Best Baseball Announcers of All Time

The Five Worst Baseball Announcers of All Time

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The New England Patriots simply could not muster up enough offense as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 25-17 on Sunday, October 30.

Tom Brady(notes) was held to just 198 yards as he completed 24 passes on 35 attempts in his failed effort to lead the Patriots to victory. He threw two touchdowns and zero interceptions but it was simply not enough.

The running game was non-existent as Kevin Faulk(notes) was limited to 32 yards on six rushing attempts. BenJarvus Green-Ellis(notes) added nine yards on five carries.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski(notes) led the receivers with 94 yards on seven receptions while wide receiver Wes Welker(notes) was limited to 39 yards on six catches. Brady was able to find Deion Branch(notes) in the end zone on a two-yard pass in the second quarter, and then Aaron Hernandez(notes) on a one-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

Simply put, the offense was simply not enough to balance out the lackluster New England defense.

New England gave up 365 passing yards to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger(notes) as he completed 36 passes on 50 attempts. He scored two touchdowns and was picked off once by LB Gary Guyton(notes).

It is certainly hard to stop an offensive attack that controlled the ball for 39:22 in the span of a 60:00 game.

Kudos should to be given for holding RB Rashard Mendenhall(notes) to only 70 yards on 13 attempts. Also no rushing touchdowns were given up. I’ll look at that as a positive.

Patrick Chung(notes) led the defenders with 10 solo tackles and three assists. He also deflected a pass. Brandon Spikes(notes) also contributed with 10 solo tackles, two assists, and a pass deflection of his own. Other defensive highlights include Guyton’s interception and two sacks by Andre Carter(notes).

It was a disappointing loss in a game the Patriots should have won. When Brady is unable to get on the field, it is hard for him to work his magic. It is as simple as that. Just over 20:00 of game time is not enough to win a ball game. The Steelers ruled the clock allowing them to win the game.

The Patriots now sit at 5-2 on the year in a first place tie with the Buffalo Bills. The will face the 5-2 New York Giants on November 6 with the hope they will be able to control the ball longer than they did against Pittsburgh, and win the game.

More NFL Commentary from this Contributor:

Browns lose in San Francisco: A fan’s reaction

Cleveland Browns’ future in the hands of McCoy, Little, and Hardesty: A fan’s look

Cleveland Browns squeak by a victory against Seattle Seahawks: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All stats provided by NFL.com

Paul Rados is an avid New England Patriots fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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New England Patriots 31, Oakland Raiders 19

OAKLAND, California — Tom Brady bounced back from a four-interception performance by throwing for 226 yards, two touchdowns and committing no turnovers to help the New England Patriots to a 31-19 win over the mistake-prone Oakland Raiders.

The Cleveland Browns, 2-2 after their 31-13 loss at home to the Tennessee Titans, now have a bye week and will play their next game on Oct. 16 in Oakland against the Raiders (2-2).

Wes Welker caught nine passes for 158 yards and a score, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley added rushing touchdowns and the Patriots (3-1) played a mostly mistake-free game after last week’s surprising loss in Buffalo.

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.

Campbell threw another interception early in the fourth quarter to 325-pound defensive lineman Vince Wilfork as the Raiders were unable to give the energized sellout crowd much to cheer about after the opening minutes.

The Raiders committed nine penalties for 85 yards, including a pair of personal fouls on New England’s opening drive by former Patriots star Richard Seymour.

But the biggest mistake was the one made by Campbell at the end of the first half. The Raiders were at the New England 6 and in position to take a 17-14 lead when Campbell stepped up in the pocket and threw the ball directly to Chung.

The Patriots drove for a 44-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski in the closing seconds of the half. New England then took the opening kickoff of the second down the field for a score on Ridley’s 33-yard run so the Raiders trailed 24-10 by the time Campbell took his next snap.

Oakland settled for a field goal deep in New England territory late in the third quarter after the officials overturned a pass interference call against the Patriots.

New England answered with another touchdown drive capped by Brady’s 4-yard pass to Deion Branch that made it 31-13 and gave him 274 career TDs, passing his boyhood hero Joe Montana for ninth place all time. That also tied Peyton Manning’s record of 13 straight games with at least two TD passes.

New England’s much-maligned defense did enough despite losing star linebacker Jerod Mayo in the first half to a knee injury and allowing 504 yards. The Patriots held an opponent to under 20 points for the first time this season, a drastic change from last week’s 34-31 loss to the Bills.

Darren McFadden, the NFL’s leading rusher, had 75 yards on 14 carries. Campbell finished 25 for 39 for 344 yards, but the Raiders only made it into the end zone once before Campbell’s 6-yard TD pass to Denarius Moore with 28 seconds left.

Brady, who threw for a record 1,327 yards the first three games, needed to do much less against the Raiders. He completed 16 of 30 passes as New England did plenty of damage on the ground with Ridley rushing for 97 yards and Green-Ellis adding 75.

Buoyed by a sellout crowd and big-game atmosphere, the Raiders came out fast with Campbell completing four of five passes for 57 yards in the opening drive to set up a 28-yard field goal by Sebatsian Janikowski.

But that emotion also hurt the Raiders with Seymour being called for unnecessary roughness for throwing Brady to the ground after a delay of game penalty and a facemask later on a TD drive.

Green Bay Packers 49, Denver Broncos 23

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — The Green Bay Packers remain unbeaten, thanks to a career-best day from Aaron Rodgers in a 49-23 rout of the Denver Broncos.

Rodgers threw for a career-high 408 yards, tied a personal best with four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores.

Charles Woodson ran an interception back for a touchdown for the Packers (4-0), who join resurgent NFC North rivals Detroit as the only undefeated teams left in the NFL.

Eric Decker caught a pair of touchdowns from Kyle Orton for Denver (1-3). Orton threw for 273 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rodgers’ 408 yards passing was a regular-season career high; he threw for 423 yards in the Packers’ playoff loss to Arizona in January 2010. Rodgers was replaced by backup Matt Flynn late in the fourth quarter.

Packers veteran wide receiver Donald Driver left in the second quarter with an apparent left knee injury, but returned in the second half — then caught a touchdown from Rodgers in the fourth quarter.

The Packers took a 21-3 lead on Rodgers’ 11-yard touchdown scramble early in the second quarter, but the Broncos briefly got back in the game as Orton threw a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to Decker.

Rodgers then shut the door just before halftime, throwing a 17-yard touchdown to Greg Jennings with 24 seconds left in the second quarter. The Packers took a 28-17 lead.

Rodgers converted a third-and-13 situation with an 18-yard completion to James Jones, then went on to march the Packers to the Denver 8-yard line. Rodgers took off running and was tackled as he stretched the ball to the goal line, where officials ruled him just short.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy called for a replay review, and the play was ruled a touchdown. Green Bay took a 35-17 lead with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

Orton put together another drive as the Broncos tried to keep up, and appeared to find tight end Daniel Fells for a long gain near the goal line. But Fells fumbled the ball and Packers safety Morgan Burnett recovered, giving the ball back to the Packers.

Rodgers then hit Randall Cobb for a 61-yard completion as the rookie spun away from a pair of Broncos defenders, and the Packers finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jones to put Green Bay ahead 42-17.

Green Bay fell behind 3-0 on an early field goal drive but answered with a big play from Rodgers, who threw a 50-yard touchdown to Nelson after the receiver outran double coverage.

Then came the 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Woodson, who plucked a pass from Orton intended for Decker out of the air and ran it back for an easy score and a 14-3 Green Bay lead.

The Packers’ next score came on an 11-yard scramble by Rodgers. Driver collided with Broncos safety Brian Dawkins on that play. Driver was down for several minutes, then left the field with assistance from his teammates.

Driver later was taken on a cart to the locker room, but came out to start the second half. He caught a touchdown from Rodgers with 7:46 left in the game.

New York Giants 31, Arizona Cardinals 27

GLENDALE, Arizonz –Eli Manning, playing at the scene of his 2008 Super Bowl triumph, threw two touchdown passes in a 58-second span late in the game and the New York Giants rallied for a 31-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The scoring passes of 2 yards to Jake Ballard with 3:37 to go and 29 yards to Hakeem Nicks with 2:39 left came after the Cardinals (1-3) seemingly had taken control at 27-17 on Beanie Wells’ third rushing touchdown of the game with 5:16 to go.

Manning completed 7 of 8 for 126 yards on the decisive drives as the Giants (3-1) won their third in a row. He finished 27 of 40 for 371 yards. Nicks caught 10 for 162 yards.

Wells, who missed the previous game with a hamstring injury, rushed for a career-best 138 yards.

The Cardinals’ last gasp ended when Kevin Kolb’s pass to Larry Fitzgerald from the New York 30 fell incomplete. Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 102 yards to break the franchise records for career yards receiving and career 100-yard games. Kolb, still obviously struggling to take hold of Arizona’s offense, was 20 for 34 for 237 yards, with one interception and one lost fumble.

Wells’ 39-yard run set up his final touchdown but Manning wasted no time in moving his team downfield with completions of 21, 28 and 26 yards to the 2 to set up the toss to Ballard, the tight end’s second touchdown catch of the game.

Arizona’s offense went nowhere and a short punt gave the Giants the ball at the Cardinals 48. Manning threw 29 yards to Victor Cruz, who went to the ground on his own and gave away the ball in what the Cardinals insisted was a fumble. The referees said no, and Manning threw a 29-yard strike to Nicks for the winning score.

The Cardinals took the lead with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, one set up by Fitzgerald’s phenomenal grab of a 47-yard pass, the other when Manning fumbled the ball away at the New York 5-yard line. Nose tackle David Carter, a sixth-round draft pick out of UCLA, burst up the middle and stripped the ball out of Manning’s hand. Darnell Dockett fell on the ball for Arizona. Wells ran for 4 yards, then plunged in from the 1 to put Arizona up 20-10 with 2:55 left in the third quarter.

The big play for Arizona earlier in the third came when Fitzgerald and defender Deon Grant went up after Kolb’s long pass. Initially, Grant appeared to have the ball, but as they came down, Fitzgerald wrestled it away with his right arm. The 47-yard completion gave Arizona the ball at the New York 10. A 7-yard pass to Fitzgerald gave Arizona a first down at the 1, and Wells pounded it in from there to put Arizona up 13-10 with 10:24 left in the third quarter.

Arizona couldn’t convert any of three scoring opportunities into touchdowns in the first half and the Giants offense came alive for a 10-play, 69-yard touchdown drive, then Lawrence Tynes kicked a 30-yard field goal with one second to play to put New York up 10-6 at the break.

Kolb was sacked three times in the first half, twice by Dave Tollefson, and fumbled the ball away deep in New York territory.

Ahmad Bradshaw, whose fumble on New York’s first possession set up an Arizona field goal, rambled 13 yards for the score with 2:54 to play.

After the Cardinals failed to move the ball, Manning connected on a 22-yard pass to Cruz and a 26-yarder on the sidelines to Nicks. A facemask penalty against Joey Porter on the Nicks completion and the ball moved to the 12 to set up Tynes’ late first-half field goal.

The Cardinals had the ball twice early deep in Giants territory and came away with only three points. Three plays after the opening kickoff, Bradshaw fumbled after a hit by safety Kerry Rhodes and Clark Haggans recovered for Arizona at the New York 16. The offense couldn’t move and Arizona settled for Jay Feely’s’ 27-yard field goal.

The defense stuffed New York after the kickoff and the Cardinals drove from their 48 to the Giants 17. But Osi Umenyiora, in his first game back from arthroscopic knee surgery, stripped the ball from Kolb and New York’s Jacquian Williams recovered at the Giants 14. Umenyiora finished with two sacks.

San Diego Chargers 26, Miami Dolphins 16

SAN DIEGO, California — Philip Rivers threw for 307 yards and one touchdown, Mike Tolbert ran for another score and the San Diego Chargers knocked out Miami quarterback Chad Henne on the way to a 26-16 victory over the winless Dolphins.

Henne hurt his left shoulder at the end of a run on a broken play on the Dolphins’ second possession and didn’t return. Although backup Matt Moore led the Dolphins to the game’s first TD, Rivers’ passing eventually overpowered the Dolphins (0-4).

Rivers threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson to tie the game at 7 late in the first quarter. Ryan Mathews’ 48-yard gain on a screen pass set up Tolbert’s 1-yard leap over the pile for a 20-10 lead for the Chargers (3-1) early in the third quarter.

Atlanta Falcons 30, Seattle Seahawks 28

SEATTLE, Washington — Matt Ryan threw for 291 yards and a touchdown and came up with key scrambles all day to keep Atlanta’s offense moving, but he had to wait out Steven Hauschka’s miss of a long kick with 13 seconds left as the Falcons escaped with a 30-28 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Ryan completed a touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez on Atlanta’s opening possession. Michael Turner ran for two scores in the first half, and Matt Bryant made three field goals for the Falcons (2-2), who remained perfect on the West Coast under coach Mike Smith.

The second of Bryant’s three kicks gave the Falcons a 27-7 lead early in the third quarter. They had dominated the first half and, outside of a blown coverage on a 52-yard TD pass from Tarvaris Jackson to Sidney Rice, had kept Seattle’s offense floundering.

But Seattle (1-3) got a spark in the second half, going with a no-huddle offense, and quickly trimmed the Falcons lead. Jackson threw two more touchdown passes, the second one an 8-yard toss to Ben Obomanu with 8:13 left that cut the Falcons’ lead to two.

Atlanta didn’t get any points on its next drive but ran more than six minutes off the clock. Ryan converted three third downs, including a 10-yard run on third-and-7 that helped run an extra two minutes. Seattle had just one timeout left after burning a pair on defensive lapses earlier in the half.

Ryan completed 28 of 42 passes and added another 26 yards with his legs. His favorite target was rookie Julio Jones, who had 11 catches for 127 yards.

Jackson had his best game with the Seahawks. But he couldn’t make up for a miserable first half offensively, when Seattle managed just five yards rushing. Jackson was 25 of 38 for 319 yards and had his first three-touchdown game since 2008 with Minnesota. He was intercepted twice and nearly got Seattle in position for a game-winning kick.

Seattle got the ball back at its 15 with 1:49 left and quickly moved toward midfield. The Seahawks caught a break with 41 seconds to go when referee Walt Anderson was buzzed to review the previous completion to Doug Baldwin and stopped the clock. Jackson then hit Zach Miller for 13 yards to the Atlanta 45.

After a completion to Miller got Seattle to the Atlanta 43 with 16 seconds remaining, Jackson was hurried on third down and threw incomplete. Instead of going for it on fourth down, Seattle coach Pete Carroll sent out Hauschka for a 61-yard attempt that was short and wide left.

Hauschka’s career long is 54 yards.

FOXBOROUGH — Deion Branch can recall his second game back with the New England Patriots last season following a four-year absence. It may be one he’d rather forget.

Despite pulling out a tight, 23-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers, the Patriots were held to 179 yards of total offense, the team’s worst offensive output in its previous 134 games.

A franchise-record 622 yards in a win over Miami on Monday night, though, has Branch dismissing the past and focusing on Sunday, when the Patriots (1-0) host the Chargers (1-0) in his first home opener since 2004.

“We didn’t execute as properly as we wanted to. Hopefully this year, this week will be a different outcome,” Branch said Friday. “We’ve got to go out and execute, got to convert on third down, we got to score in the red, the things that we didn’t do last year. Those are things that we got to improve on this year.

“Last week is behind us, hopefully we can go out and do the same thing.”

After earning MVP honors in the 2005 Super Bowl, Branch spent four-plus seasons in Seattle before returning to New England last October. He was limited to four receptions and 39 yards by San Diego’s top-ranked defense in that game. It was just part of the Patriots’ worst offensive performance since totaling 176 yards against Tennessee on Dec. 16, 2002.

Yet always unfazed by statistics, the Patriots were able to fend off a furious fourth-quarter charge from San Diego, narrowly escaping when Kris Brown’s 50-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright with 23 seconds left.

New England coach Bill Belichick expects a similar battle Sunday.

“The more you watch them, the more impressed you are,” he said. “It’s a good football team.”

New defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, filling the void after Ron Rivera was hired as coach of the Carolina Panthers, inherits a veteran defense defined for swarming to the ball. Much of the stout San Diego secondary remains in tact from last season, too, led by free safety Eric Weddle, now in his fifth season in San Diego.

“Weddle’s a real instinctive player,” Belichick said. “He’s got good quickness, but he’s really got a real good nose for the ball, he’s got a lot of savvy, does a nice job disguising coverages, reading the quarterback, he’s around the ball a lot.”

Weddle’s not the only hard-hitting safety who may pose potential problems for New England receivers. A two-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Player of the Year who spent seven seasons wreaking havoc on Indianapolis’ defense before injuries curtailed his time there, Bob Sanders was signed to a one-year deal by the Chargers this offseason.

And despite missing virtually all of last season with a torn biceps tendon, and playing merely nine games over the past three years, Sanders doesn’t look like someone who’s been out of the game, according to Branch.

“He don’t look like he missed ‘X’ amount of games, I’ll promise you that,” Branch said. “It don’t seem like he missed all of last year.”

Belichick appeared to agree.

“Sanders is the player we saw in Indianapolis,” he said. “He’s very instinctive, too. Kind of like a (Troy) Polamalu type of guy — lot of big hits in a game, lot of speed, gets to a lot of plays and then brings the wood when he gets there.”

Receiver Wes Welker, fresh off a scintillating performance against the Dolphins when he hauled in a franchise-record 99-yard, catch-and-run touchdown, is cognizant of what Sanders brings to a defense.

“You see him flying around and out there making plays, running around and doing kind of what he does,” said Welker, who was held to four catches and 25 yards against San Diego last season. “We’ve got to make sure we stay aggressive with him and stay on top of him and try to take advantage of it in some ways.”

Chad Ochocinco could help in that department. The oft-criticized receiver, who was traded to the Patriots in the offseason, declined to speak to the media this week after being publicly scrutinized by former New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi for his tweet about being awestruck by his team’s offensive onslaught in the opener.

While Bruschi supported his comments on SportsCenter on Thursday, Branch backed his teammate a day later.

“The thing is when you’re in a different place, different things happen. You can’t focus on and worry about what others are saying,” Branch said. “We’re just going out, doing our jobs, executing our plays and he’s doing a great job doing that.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Deion Branch can recall his second game back with the New England Patriots last season following a four-year absence. It may be one he’d rather forget.

Despite pulling out a tight, 23-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers, the Patriots were held to 179 yards of total offense, the team’s worst offensive output in its previous 134 games.

A franchise-record 622 yards in a win over Miami on Monday night, though, has Branch dismissing the past and focusing on Sunday, when the Patriots (1-0) host the Chargers (1-0) in his first home opener since 2004.

“We didn’t execute as properly as we wanted to. Hopefully this year, this week will be a different outcome,” Branch said Friday. “We’ve got to go out and execute, got to convert on third down, we got to score in the red, the things that we didn’t do last year. Those are things that we got to improve on this year.

“Last week is behind us, hopefully we can go out and do the same thing.”

After earning MVP honors in the 2005 Super Bowl, Branch spent four-plus seasons in Seattle before returning to New England last October. He was limited to four receptions and 39 yards by San Diego’s top-ranked defense in that game. It was just part of the Patriots’ worst offensive performance since totaling 176 yards against Tennessee on Dec. 16, 2002.

Yet always unfazed by statistics, the Patriots were able to fend off a furious fourth-quarter charge from San Diego, narrowly escaping when Kris Brown’s 50-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright with 23 seconds left.

New England coach Bill Belichick expects a similar battle Sunday.

“The more you watch them, the more impressed you are,” he said. “It’s a good football team.”

New defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, filling the void after Ron Rivera was hired as coach of the Carolina Panthers, inherits a veteran defense defined for swarming to the ball. Much of the stout San Diego secondary remains in tact from last season, too, led by free safety Eric Weddle, now in his fifth season in San Diego.

“Weddle’s a real instinctive player,” Belichick said. “He’s got good quickness, but he’s really got a real good nose for the ball, he’s got a lot of savvy, does a nice job disguising coverages, reading the quarterback, he’s around the ball a lot.”

Weddle’s not the only hard-hitting safety who may pose potential problems for New England receivers. A two-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Player of the Year who spent seven seasons wreaking havoc on Indianapolis’ defense before injuries curtailed his time there, Bob Sanders was signed to a one-year deal by the Chargers this offseason.

And despite missing virtually all of last season with a torn biceps tendon, and playing merely nine games over the past three years, Sanders doesn’t look like someone who’s been out of the game, according to Branch.

“He don’t look like he missed ‘X’ amount of games, I’ll promise you that,” Branch said. “It don’t seem like he missed all of last year.”

Belichick appeared to agree.

“Sanders is the player we saw in Indianapolis,” he said. “He’s very instinctive, too. Kind of like a (Troy) Polamalu type of guy — lot of big hits in a game, lot of speed, gets to a lot of plays and then brings the wood when he gets there.”

Receiver Wes Welker, fresh off a scintillating performance against the Dolphins when he hauled in a franchise-record 99-yard, catch-and-run touchdown, is cognizant of what Sanders brings to a defense.

“You see him flying around and out there making plays, running around and doing kind of what he does,” said Welker, who was held to four catches and 25 yards against San Diego last season. “We’ve got to make sure we stay aggressive with him and stay on top of him and try to take advantage of it in some ways.”

Chad Ochocinco could help in that department. The oft-criticized receiver, who was traded to the Patriots in the offseason, declined to speak to the media this week after being publicly scrutinized by former New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi for his tweet about being awestruck by his team’s offensive onslaught in the opener.

While Bruschi supported his comments on SportsCenter on Thursday, Branch backed his teammate a day later.

“The thing is when you’re in a different place, different things happen. You can’t focus on and worry about what others are saying,” Branch said. “We’re just going out, doing our jobs, executing our plays and he’s doing a great job doing that.”