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PATRIOTS 34, BENGALS 13
Stripes staggering as New England rolls
Brady leads a precision offense to an easy victory; Cincinnati suffers third straight loss.
What's the Bengals biggest problem? | Blog: Through The Arch
Moss again shows his worth | Bengals notes | Game photos
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
CINCINNATI — Too much Tom Brady. Too much Randy Moss. Too much Sammy Morris.
Too bad for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Extras
The New England Patriots, showing the precision that has earned them three Super Bowl rings this decade, put on a textbook performance in a 34-13 victory over the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Monday night.
A Bengals' record crowd of 66,113 saw Brady throw three TD passes — two to Moss on plays covering 7 and 14 yards — and Morris score on a 7-yard dash as New England (4-0) hit the season quarter pole in perfect stride.
In stark contrast to the sprinting Patriots are the staggering Bengals (1-3), who will drag a three-game losing streak into Kansas City on Oct. 14. They won't lose on Sunday because they get a bye, which is how their season is going ... bye, bye.
Cincinnati's only TD came on Carson Palmer's 1-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh — five plays after rookie cornerback Leon Hall intercepted a Brady pass at New England's 35-yard line. It was Hall's second pick in as many weeks.
Brady completed 25 of 32 yards for 231 yards, a 115.0 passer rating and wasn't sacked, while Palmer's rating (65.7) plummeted because of two interceptions.
"They executed better than we did," Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "They're a bunch of mature guys who play big-time football. We have to understand there's no playing around in the NFL. We're just not playing good football right now."
It was the Bengals' first loss in prime time at home under coach Marvin Lewis and their first loss after six wins wearing orange jerseys.
Stars of the game
Morris — subbing for injured Laurence Maroney (groin) — rushed 21 times for 117 yards, with a long gain of 49 yards, and a touchdown.
Goat of the game
Chad Johnson was limited to three catches for 53 yards and got psyched out by the Patriots' defense.
With the Bengals down 17-7 and facing second-and-9 at the Patriots' 20, Johnson broke the wrong way on a route that caused the first of two Palmer interceptions. Palmer and Johnson had a heated discussion on the sideline that continued as they walked off the field at halftime.
Quote machine
"We can't finger-point. Everybody has to look at themselves on tape, and look at themselves in the mirror. If you're not improving, you're not being a professional." — Bengals right tackle Scott Kooistra.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@coxohio.com
