They had an air of confidence

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There was little doubt the Patriots felt they could throw the ball against the Kansas City defense Monday night, especially with the return of top receiver Deion Branch, whose bursts of speed and cutting ability seemed to belie the fact that he missed nine weeks with a knee injury.

Tom Brady went over the 300-yard passing mark (315) for the second time this season in the 27-19 win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead (the first time was Opening Night against Indianapolis). He's thrown for 300 or more yards eight times in the regular season (he's 7-1 in those games) and twice in the postseason.

Brady, who has a touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games, found Branch on the left side on a play that began from the Chiefs 26 in the third quarter. Branch showed impressive footwork and cutting ability in taking the short pass, eluding tacklers, and cutting up the middle for the score, which gave the Patriots a 24-13 lead.

Brady completed seven passes of more than 20 yards, including one for 48 yards to tight end Daniel Graham, and for 46 to David Patten.

"He's been so consistent and so steady out there," wide receiver Troy Brown said of Brady. "When he sees an opening, he usually hits the guy. He's amazing like that."

Corey Dillon has aided the passing game, and not just with catches out of the backfield. The Patriots in recent years threw a lot of shorter passes in lieu of runs; those are now carries by Dillon, allowing Brady to throw downfield more freely. The threat of play-action also freezes the defense, and gives receivers more one-on-ones.

"Tom Brady is a great quarterback," Dillon said. "What a feel he has for each situation. I've never seen anything like it."

Brady drew raves for dumping the ball off to Graham in the first quarter for a 27-yard gain with the Chiefs blitzing. After Patten had beaten nickle corner Julian Battles but dropped the ball, Brady made a great decision to go right back to that play, and Patten caught it for his 46-yarder.

Other worldly
For the second straight week, the Patriots might be facing the "other" runner. New England caught a break with Priest Holmes out of the Chiefs' lineup Monday night, and now the Ravens might have to use Chester Taylor because Jamal Lewis sprained his right ankle in Sunday's 30-10 win over Dallas. The Ravens also lost Musa Smith to a broken right leg not long after Lewis went out. The Ravens are expected to sign a back before Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium . . . It will be interesting to see whether cornerback Asante Samuel is on the injury report today. He seemed to be hurting after the game after having to leave with 1:33 remaining. With Earthwind Moreland being burned twice by the Chiefs, the team is likely to look at some corners this week. There's a chance Tyrone Poole could return against the Ravens, although that might be a stretch; he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery just four weeks ago . . . The Patriots are 14-1 since the start of '03 against teams with winning records.