Pats one win shy of regular-season perfection with romp
VIDEO PLAYLIST 
| Scouts Buzz |
You could say Miami figured out a way to slow New England down. It just did it too late for it to make a difference. Using multiple-receiver formations, QB Tom Brady completed 14-of-18 passes in the first half, three for touchdowns. The Dolphins dropped DE Jason Taylor into coverage with their zone blitzes, but that took their best rusher out of the mix. Without Taylor, Miami was unable to mount any kind of pass rush with the remaining defensive linemen and occasional blitzing linebacker against the steady New England O-line. This gave Brady way too much time in the pocket to scan the field and go through his progressions in the first half. Miami adjusted in the second half and slowed this passing attack down. The Dolphins brought more pressure with a wider variety of blitzes and forced Brady into a mediocre 4-of-15 effort, but by then it was too little, too late. Still, Miami once again played hard despite its record, showing this team has a lot of heart.
-- Doug Kretz, Scouts Inc.
· Complete Week 16 Scouts Buzz
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| Team Stat Comparison |
| |  |  |
| 1st Downs | 15 | 19 |
3rd down efficiency | 4-16 | 7-14 |
4th down efficiency | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Total Yards | 241 | 400 |
| Passing | 133 | 204 |
Comp-Att | 18-41 | 18-33 |
Yards per pass | 3.2 | 6.2 |
| Rushing | 108 | 196 |
Rushing Attempts | 22 | 25 |
Yards per rush | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Penalties | 4-32 | 2-18 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
Fumbles lost | 0 | 2 |
Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Possession | 31:44 | 28:16 |
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| Miami Passing | | | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | | Lemon | 18/41 | 171 | 1 | 0 |
| | New England Passing | | | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | | Brady | 18/33 | 215 | 3 | 2 |
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| | New England Receiving | | | REC | YDS | TD | LG | | Gaffney | 5 | 82 | 1 | 48 | | Moss | 5 | 50 | 2 | 16 |
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| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER | MIA | NWE |
 | TD | 08:47 | Randy Moss 11 Yd Pass From Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick) | 0 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER | MIA | NWE |
 | TD | 13:32 | Randy Moss 1 Yd Pass From Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick) | 0 | 14 |
 | TD | 10:04 | Laurence Maroney 59 Yd Run (Stephen Gostkowski Kick) | 0 | 21 |
 | TD | 03:33 | Jabar Gaffney 48 Yd Pass From Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski Kick) | 0 | 28 |
| THIRD QUARTER | MIA | NWE |
 | TD | 01:13 | Greg Camarillo 21 Yd Pass From Cleo Lemon (Jay Feely Kick) | 7 | 28 |
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Records aren't important to the Patriots, not yet anyway.
| Brady's Bunch | | As the Pats look to cap their perfect regular season next week, Tom Brady sets his sights on a record all his own. Brady threw for three scores against the Dolphins, leaving him just one TD pass short of tying Peyton Manning for the most in a single season. |
| Year | Player | Team | TDs |
| 2004 | Peyton Manning | IND | 49 |
| 2007 | Tom Brady | NE | 48 |
| 1984 | Dan Marino | MIA | 48 |
| 1986 | Dan Marino | MIA | 44 |
| 1999 | Kurt Warner | STL | 41 |
Not finishing the season at 16-0. Not becoming the highest scoring team in NFL history. And not
Tom Brady and
Randy Moss setting individual marks.
All those are still within reach, but after becoming the first team to go 15-0 in the regular season with a 28-7 win over the
Miami Dolphins on Sunday, it will mean more if the Patriots have a higher number than the
New York Giants on the scoreboard at the end of their game next Saturday night.
"When you look back at the end of your career, you'll be excited about individual records," Brady said, "but winning's more important and I think that's really what everyone's concerned about."
Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to Moss, and the Patriots moved to the best start in league history. The old mark: Miami's 14-0 in 1972 when the season lasted just 14 games.
Today's disjointed Dolphins (1-14) couldn't protect the record of their dominant predecessors.
"We wanted to win for them," defensive end
Jason Taylor said. "But I wanted to win today, for the guys in this room."
If the Patriots beat the Giants, then go unbeaten in the postseason to finish 19-0, they'll join the Dolphins as the only teams to post a perfect record from opening day until the clock in the championship game runs out.
At the same time, the Patriots need six points to break Minnesota's single-season record of 556 set in 1998.
Brady is one shy of
Peyton Manning's NFL record of 49 touchdown passes set in 2004 and tied with Dan Marino's production in 1984; Moss needs one touchdown reception to tie
Jerry Rice's mark of 22 set in 12 games in 1987, a strike year.
"Randy, everyone knows he's a great player whether he gets the record or not," Brady said.
The Patriots tied their NFL record of 18 consecutive regular-season wins set in 2003-04. They also broke the league mark of 70 touchdowns in one season by the 1984 Dolphins, reaching 71 to go up 28-0.
"I never felt they were playing for the records," Miami coach Cam Cameron said. "They understand what's important."
Miami finally scored late in the third quarter on
Cleo Lemon's 21-yard pass to
Greg Camarillo. That was meaningless compared with their 67-yard hookup a week earlier that gave Miami a 22-16 overtime win over Baltimore. That touchdown unleashed jubilation in the Dolphin Stadium stands because there was no longer a chance these Dolphins would be the first team to finish 0-16.
Brady finished 18-for-33 and threw two interceptions.
Laurence Maroney had a career-high 156 yards on 14 carries
On Sunday, the Patriots were in charge from the start.
They led 28-0 at halftime, scoring on four of their first five possessions. Maroney had the Patriots' two longest gains of the season, 59 yards for a touchdown and 51 -- the longest runs of his two NFL seasons -- and Brady threw a 48-yard scoring pass to
Jabar Gaffney that safety
Lance Schulters just missed on the left sideline.
"I don't really know how close he was to it," Gaffney said with a laugh. "I just know he missed it."
Welcome back to the NFL, Tuna.
Bill Parcells, hired as Miami's executive vice president of football operations on Thursday, saw how far the Dolphins were from being competitive. He also saw a Patriots team that's much better than the one he coached to the Super Bowl at the end of the 1996 season -- a loss to Green Bay.
"I never want to go through this, not in a season, not in a career," Taylor said.
There was a championship feeling in the air even before the game began. Three Red Sox players --
David Ortiz,
Curt Schilling and
Kevin Youkilis -- along with owner John Henry drew a huge ovation when they paraded onto the field with the trophies from their World Series wins in 2004 and 2007.
Maroney had his second straight season-best output after spending most of the season as an afterthought to Brady's passing. He gained 104 yards on 26 carries in a 20-10 win over the
New York Jets.
His 51-yard run and a pass interference penalty in the end zone set up Brady's 1-yard touchdown pass to Moss, who had scored on an 11-yarder in the first quarter. Five minutes into the second quarter, Maroney was untouched after bursting through a huge hole in the line on his 59-yard touchdown.
"All I had to do was show some speed and make sure not to get caught," Maroney said.
Brady was glad to see the second-year pro have the most productive game of his career.
"Sometimes people forget about him, but we certainly don't," Brady said.
Now it's on to the Giants when the Patriots one-game-at-a-time approach can accomplish something that's never been done.
"Like I've said before," linebacker
Tedy Bruschi said, " `Put me in coach. I want to play. I want to win.' And if what it means this week is being 16-0, yeah, I want it."
Game notesThe Patriots swept their division for the first time ever, going 6-0 against Miami, Buffalo and the New York Jets. ... Taylor played in his 129th straight game, breaking the team record held by Hall of Fame center Jim Langer. ... The Patriots had their most balanced offense of the season, 204 yards passing and 196 rushing.