Patriots Blow Out Raiders In Mexico
The New England Patriots brought a 7-game win streak across the boarder this week and now head back to the states with another win, following their 33-8, blowout win over the Oakland Raiders at Mecixo's Estadio Azteca, Sunday afternoon.
Never In Doubt- The reality of the game was that, from the opening offensive series for New England, the game was never really in doubt. The Pats, after forcing a punt from Oakland to start the game, went on a 15 play, 87 yard scoring drive to put their mark on the game. From there, Oakland's inconsistency and turnover propensity coupled with New England's offensive prowess and overall solid play made this a rather one-sided affair.
Another Stellar Day- It was another stellar day under center for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The 40-year-old completed his first 12 pass attempts on the day, en route to a dominating performance. In total, Brady finished his afternoon 30-37 for 339 yards and three scores, while completing passes to seven different receivers. Brady treated the fans of Mexico to a truly top notch show and they thanked him throughout the game with endless BRA-DY chants.
Going Deep- Part of Brady's stellar performance was his ability to pick apart the Oakland defense with the deep ball. Brady hooked up with deep threat wide receiver Brandin Cooks for two pass plays of over 50 yards, including a 64-yard TD less than a minute into the second half. On the day, Cooks put together one of his best games as a Patriot, catching six of the nine balls thrown his way for 149 yards and the score.
Perfection With The Foot- The Pats were also treated to a perfect day by their veteran kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, who went 3-3 on the afternoon. Gostkowski used the high altitude of Mexico to put to 50+ yards kicks through the uprights, including a whopping 62-yarder just before the halftime break. It was a great performance for Gostkowski, who has struggled at points over the past few seasons.
3rd All-Time- With the win, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list for the league. The win is Belichick's 271st, which moves him one ahead of Tom Landry.
Solid Defense- The Patriot defense was aided on the day by a pair of turnovers and some poor attempts at catching the ball by the Oakland offense, but when all was said and done New England had another solid defensive outing Sunday. The Pats held Oakland to eight points on the game, with those eight points coming in garbage time.
12 In A Row- The win is New England's 12th in a row, on the road, in the regular season. that ties them with themselves from 2006-2008 for second place all-time. The San Francisco 49ers from the late 80's through the early 90's hold the record with 18 straight regular season, road wins. Tom Brady also moved into second place all-time with his 12th straight road win, putting him behind Joe Montana, who led all of the Niners' 18 wins.
It's crazy to think of in such simple terms, but isn't this what everyone expected out of the Pats? Sure, they struggled a bit to start the season. Since Week 4, however, they have won six straight games and become top dog in the league once again. Every week, people wait for them to slip up and they just refuse to. It's domination after domination and the other team that always leaves with egg on their face. Simply put, the Pats are just better than everyone else.