The path to the brink of perfection

Tom Brady's performance was a huge lift to the team all season, so it was only fitting that he would get one from Logan Mankins and company after his record-setting TD pass to Randy Moss helped secure a perfect regular season in a Week 17 victory over the Giants. (Julie Jacobson/Associated Press)

Sept. 9, at East Rutherford, N.J.
Patriots 38, Jets 14
As far as omens go, the Patriots' initial drive of the 2007 campaign was the sign of a special season - 12 plays, 91 yards, and not even a single third down needed to reach the end zone. Tom Brady wasted no time implementing his new targets, finding Randy Moss once and Wes Welker three times on the drive, including an 11-yard TD. Ahead just 14-7 at the half, Ellis Hobbs brought back the second-half kickoff an NFL-record 108 yards, and the blowout was on. Any questions about the status of Moss's cranky hamstring, which kept him from playing during the exhibition season, were answered when Moss streaked downfield on a 51-yard touchdown catch that made it 28-7. Moss finished his Patriots debut with nine grabs for 183 yards, and Brady showed his trademark accuracy with a 22-of-28 day, resulting in 298 yards and three scores. Count the QB among the satisfied. "I think there were a lot of positives," Brady said. "Any time you get a win on the road in this division, it's a tough way to start."

Sept. 16 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 38, Chargers 14
It was hardly the usual week of preparation with news of the Patriots' illegal taping of the Jets' signals in Week 1, and the quick and severe punishment doled out by the league. So you couldn't blame the Patriots from being flush with emotion after steamrolling the powerful Chargers, and for dedicating the win to embattled coach Bill Belichick. "We're going to fight for him and we're going to go out there and play for him. We appreciate what he has done for us," said safety James Sanders. What the defense did for Belichick was shut out San Diego for the first half, force three turnovers (including an Adalius Thomas 65-yard interception return for a TD), and hold reigning league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson to 48 yards rushing. Offensively, Brady (25 of 31, 279 yards, 3 TDs) clicked with Moss again, connecting eight times, twice in the end zone. Between the swirling "Spygate" distraction and the angry rivals on the opposite sidelines, the Patriots passed an early litmus test for greatness. "It's an exclamation point victory," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "It's really satisfying."

Sept. 23 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 38, Bills 7
Bitter? Hardly. "Spygate" was now long-forgotten in the locker room. Better? Stunningly, yes. The business-minded Patriots broke Buffalo's will, starting on the game's opening drive when the defense sent Bills quarterback J.P. Losman to the sideline with a leg injury. Following a slow start on offense, the Patriots took over in dominating fashion. For the third straight game, Brady had a mere six incompletions while actually improving in the TD category (four). New England punished the Buffalo defense for 485 total yards, including 103 on the ground by Laurence Maroney. Simply put, said Bills coach Dick Jauron, "They are a team with no weaknesses." Moss tacked on two more TDs among his five catches, and became the first receiver in NFL history to gain at least 100 yards receiving in each of his first three games with a new team. Setting records will become habit for Moss and his appreciative quarterback. "My job's easy," said Brady. "I've just got to throw it up there [to him]."

Oct. 1 at Cincinnati
Patriots 34, Bengals 13
In a Monday night showcase against one of the sorriest defenses in the league, the Patriots' results were predictable, but nonetheless impressive. It was Sammy Morris's turn to prove himself as a key acquisition, filling in for an injured Maroney to run for 117 yards and a backbreaking TD in the third quarter. New England had its way on offense (404 total yards, 7 of 12 on third down, a 15-minute advantage in time of possession), and the Bengals' offensive machine turned into a clunker. In fact, Cincinnati's only visit to the end zone was set up by Brady's second interception of the season. Don't pity Brady, though. He used his intermediate reads to submit a 25-of-32 effort, with three more TD passes. By becoming the first team since 1920 to win its first four games by more than 20 points, it was time to start thinking of the 2007 Patriots in a historical perspective. But Belichick wasn't overly impressed. "I would like to think we are going to continue to improve and get better as the season progresses," he said. Scary thought.

Oct. 7 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 34, Browns 17
Fans may have been looking ahead to a Week 6 showdown with Dallas, but the Patriots weren't about to take an improved Cleveland team lightly with a short week of preparation. Even when it was 20-0 at halftime, the Browns knew they were still in it. The deficit would've been more manageable if not for three first-half interceptions thrown by Derek Anderson, two of which Brady turned into touchdowns (34 yards to Donte' Stallworth, and 7 yards to Benjamin Watson, with just 1:01 left in the half). Do the math and the Browns actually outscored the Patriots after the break, and the final margin came courtesy of a last-minute fumble return by Randall Gay. "You know we have to play a lot better than we did today," said Stallworth. "There are a lot of things that we could have done better out there and I am sure that we will hear about it tomorrow when we are watching the game film." Even at 5-0, the Patriots were willing to challenge themselves even more.

Oct. 14 at Irving, Texas
Patriots 48, Cowboys 27
The pregame records showed the teams as equal. On the field, however, and especially in the second half, it wasn't even close. The Patriots literally came out with an air of confidence, Brady converting four third-down throws on the game's opening drive, the last 6 yards to Moss in the end zone. Brady had two more TD passes, both to Welker, in the first half, and completely took over after Dallas rallied to take a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter. "We really made the plays when we needed to," Brady said. "Down in the third quarter, we responded and made some great plays." The first was a 1-yard go-ahead TD pass to Kyle Brady, capping a drive in which the QB was 7 of 9. Undeterred by a reversed long TD pass to Moss, Brady drove the Patriots to two field goals, a 69-yard scoring bomb to Stallworth, and a punctuation TD plunge by Kyle Eckel. Brady's five TD passes tied a team record, and he set an NFL mark with his sixth straight game with at least three TD passes to start the season.

Oct. 21 at Miami
Patriots 49, Dolphins 28
Just seven days after scoring their most points in a game since 1984, Brady and the Patriots wasted no time bettering that mark. Brady hit on his first 11 pass attempts, with four completions going for touchdowns - 30 yards to Stallworth, 2 yards to Kyle Brady, and connections of 35 and 50 yards to Moss. After a fifth TD toss, 14 yards to Welker, just before the half, it was logical to assume Brady's day was done with the Patriots racking up a franchise-record 42 points by the break. But after Miami closed to within 42-21 in the fourth quarter, Belichick summoned Brady to finish the job. In a matter of four plays, Brady had the Patriots back in the end zone, hitting Welker from 16 yards to set the team record with six TD passes. Only one record mattered to Brady, though; the first 7-0 start in franchise history. "There is a long way to go," he said. "We've just got to try to keep making improvements because things certainly weren't perfect out there. I just hope we can keep getting better."

Oct. 28 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 52, Redskins 7
Bordering on absurdity, the Patriots' unstoppable offense dissected Washington's fifth-ranked defense into pieces to the tune of 34 first downs and 486 total yards. Brady was good for 306 of those, and provided the first score with a 3-yard run. This one hardly had the earmarks of a record rout when Brady tossed a short TD toss to temporary tight end Mike Vrabel, making it 14-0 midway through the second quarter. Vrabel was the real star, keying a stretch of four straight Redskins possessions that ended in a turnover - three ending in a strip-sack by Vrabel, the last of which was scooped up and returned 11 yards for a touchdown by Rosevelt Colvin. At that point it was 38-0, and Brady tacked on his 30th TD pass in the fourth quarter. With the offense in an electric flow and the defense in lock-down mode, there was no better path to take to Indianapolis for a battle of unbeatens the next week. "There isn't anything that's on the line other than the next opponent," said Stallworth. "Obviously it's going to be a big game and all that good stuff."

Nov. 4 at Indianapolis
Patriots 24, Colts 20
The buildup for one of the biggest regular-season games in NFL history didn't wane until kickoff, and the two rivals put forth a memorable rematch of their AFC title game clash. This time, it was the Colts who asserted themselves early, but it only amounted to two early field goals. Poised to take a 7-6 lead into halftime, the Patriots had a major defensive lapse, burned by a short screen pass that Joseph Addai turned into a weaving, 73-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left. Momentum stayed with the Colts through the third quarter - holding the Patriots to a field goal inside the red zone - and crested early in the fourth with a Gary Brackett interception of Brady. The Colts capitalized with Peyton Manning's 1-yard TD plunge to make it 20-10. Then came what could be considered the intersection of perfection. Working mostly out of the shotgun, Brady took the Patriots downfield for a 3-yard TD pass to Welker, and then after an Indy punt (and 23-yard Welker return), Brady thrust the Patriots into the lead with a 13-yard TD toss to Kevin Faulk with 3:15 remaining. "I'm very proud of the fact that we're 9-0 going into the bye week," said Brady. "I think everybody could use the rest."

Nov. 18 at Orchard Park, N.Y.
Patriots 56, Bills 10
The Patriots certainly looked rested and focused after their bye week. Until late in the fourth quarter, every New England possession ended in a touchdown. The full-scale domination was relentless, starting with Gay's interception on Buffalo's first possession that set up Maroney's 6-yard TD run. In theory, this one was over once Moss crossed the goal line - backward, in fact - on a 43-yard toss from Brady midway through the first quarter. The Bills had no way to combat a New England offense that was ruthlessly efficient, piling up 510 total yards to Buffalo's 229. Moss and Brady also hooked up for scoring plays of 16, 6, and 17 yards, all in the first half, as Moss broke the Patriots record for TD catches in a season with 16. Brady also had a 3-yarder to Benjamin Watson in the third quarter to raise his TD tally to an astonishing 38. Actually, everything about the Patriots kept going up - wins, points, records, confidence. "I just think from an execution standpoint with all 11 guys executing there's no telling what we can do," Moss said.

Nov. 25 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 31, Eagles 28
Having already clinched the AFC East with Buffalo's loss earlier in the day, and with an injured Donovan McNabb on the Eagles' sideline, it was easy to assume the Patriots would coast to 11-0. And that seemed inevitable after Asante Samuel coasted into the end zone with a 40-yard interception return just 1:22 into the game. But there was a challenge afoot, thanks to A.J. Feeley's guidance of a Philadelphia offense that matched New England blow for blow. The Patriots, respectful of the Eagles' blitz creativity, called 29 passes on 30 plays to start the game, working strictly from the shotgun and sometimes no-huddle (the lone run was Heath Evans's 1-yard TD). Every time one team scored, the other answered, no response greater than Brady's 19-yard TD pass to Jabar Gaffney with eight seconds left in the half. After Feeley's third TD pass gave the Eagles a 28-24 lead, the Patriots responded with a 10-play drive, Maroney's 4-yard TD run with 7:20 left being the difference. The Eagles' final two possessions ended in Feeley interceptions. "You have to win like this sometimes too," said Gaffney. "You're not going to blow everyone out."

Dec. 3 at Baltimore
Patriots 27, Ravens 24
Just how close did perfection come to being persecution? About 44 seconds, which is how much time was left when Brady connected with Gaffney for the winning 8-yard TD pass. The Patriots struggled to move the ball consistently against a strong defense, and the Ravens used a ground game that averaged 4.5 yards per carry to control the clock. "You name it, it was a problem," said Belichick. So were the raw, windy conditions for the Monday night game, which led the Patriots to balance their play-calling more. For the second straight game, Brady was nearly outplayed by a backup. Kyle Boller had led the Ravens to a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter with his second TD pass. Then he turned back into Kyle Boller, throwing an up-for-grabs interception at the New England goal line that James Sanders brought back to midfield. Soon after, Stephen Gostkowski booted a 38-yard field goal. After a second straight three-and-out by Baltimore, Brady embarked on the drive that saved immortality. He ran for a first downs on third-and-1 and fourth-and-6, and after a defensive holding on another fourth-down play, he hit Gaffney on first-and-goal from the 8. "With a quarterback like Tom Brady, you've got to have confidence that things will work out for the best, and they did," said Moss.

Dec. 9 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 34, Steelers 13
Not Brady. Not Moss. Not Belichick. The name on everyone's tongue was Anthony Smith, a heretofore anonymous Steelers safety who opened himself to criticism when during the week he guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory. It gave a hungry Patriots team, eager to shake off two straight escapes, an angry streak, and they took it out on Smith. Moss was matched up against the safety when took off downfield on a 63-yard TD pass. And Moss was involved in the decisive play against Smith, a double-lateral in which he bobbled a low throw behind the line of scrimmage, then fired a strike back to Brady, who saw Gaffney behind Smith's coverage. Smith flailed at Brady's 56-yard launch but Gaffney came down with it in the end zone for a 24-13 lead in the third quarter. Smith showed after the game that's he better at backpedaling with his mouth than with his feet. "If I had been quoted right," Smith said, "it wouldn't have come out the way it did." The Patriots weren't interested in context. "We weren't focused on who was saying what, but more on us just doing our job," said Bruschi, who helped lead a defensive effort that kept the Steelers off the scoreboard in the second half.

Dec. 16 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 20, Jets 10
The elements proved to be a tougher opponent than the Jets. In raw, rainy conditions and with wind gusts pushing 30 miles per hour, the Patriots struggled in joining the 1972 Dolphins as the only teams to go 14-0. It helped playing with the lead, which came courtesy of Eugene Wilson's 5-yard interception return just 5:27 into the game. On the play, Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens was planted by Richard Seymour in the end zone, knocking him out for the rest of the game. His replacement, Chad Pennington, didn't get the Jets into the end zone (New York's touchdown came on a blocked punt return), but he kept the chains moving and kept the Patriots' offense off the field. The biggest difference this day was a pass rush that produced five sacks, and the consistency of Maroney - 13 carries, 48 yards in the first half; 13 carries, 56 yards and a TD in the second half. "Running the ball a lot today, it gave me a chance to know where [holes] were going to be before they happened," said Maroney. The Patriots ended the day knowing they would be home for the entire AFC playoffs.

Dec. 23 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 28, Dolphins 7
If there was any pressure floating through Gillette Stadium, it didn't show on the field. The Dolphins, who had shed the urgency of getting their first victory the previous weekend, came out flat. The Patriots, with an eye on the Giants in the regular-season finale, came out firing. Brady hit seven passes on the team's opening drive, including an 11-yard TD to Moss. Then came a 21-point barrage in the second quarter, featuring two more Brady scoring passes and a 59-yard TD burst by Maroney, who was untouched through the line. "I didn't have to make to many moves or run through anyone because it was that open so all I had to do was run to the end zone," said Maroney, who had a career-best 156 yards on just 14 carries. Although New England had fewer than 100 total yards in the second half, there was little reason for concern. Miami didn't break up the shutout until late in the third quarter. By then, the focus had shifted to a date with history just six days away.

Dec. 29 at East Rutherford, N.J.
Patriots 38, Giants 35
In a way, the culmination was fitting because it incorporated every positive characteristic the Patriots had developed along the way. Brady (32 of 42, 356 yards) was accurate. Maroney (two TDs) was tenacious. The defense was opportunistic, special teams was reliable, the coaches' adjustments were precise. All of these things were essential to achieving immortality at 16-0. The Giants, opting for their full complement of starters, had no plans to roll over. In fact they were rolling after a game-opening TD drive, a kickoff return for a score, and two of Eli Manning's four TD passes. The latter gave the Giants a 28-16 lead in the third quarter. Over the next five minutes, Brady took the Patriots 73 yards, with Maroney's 6-yard run cutting the deficit to 5. The next score had history written all over it. One play after underthrowing an open Moss downfield, Brady worked the same play to perfection, hitting Moss in stride for a 65-yard score that gave Brady the TD pass record (50), Moss the TD catch record (23), and the Patriots the lead at 31-28. Three plays later Hobbs intercepted Manning, Maroney added another TD run, and New England could finally exhale. But only temporarily. Said a happy but humble Belichick, "Pretty soon we need to turn the page and move on."

Jan. 12 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 31, Jaguars 20
With all the attention accorded Brady for his record-setting performance in the Divisional round matchup, it's easy to forget how valiantly the Jaguars played into the second half despite a ground attack that was rendered obsolete by the Patriots. That tends to happen when Belichick has an extra week to game plan for a team's strength. Jacksonville's coaches had no such answer for Brady, and the Jaguar defenders just couldn't stop him, period. Behind a superb showing by the offensive line, Brady set an NFL record by completing 92.9 percent of his passes (26 of 28). Watson was the favorite choice in the red zone with two of Brady's three TD passes, the second of which gave the Patriots a 28-17 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. "I was just able to get open," Watson said. "Tom does a good job getting the ball to the open receiver." Eight players caught a pass from Brady, who was flawless on his first 16 attempts, and executed a perfect play-action, Statue of Liberty fake for a third-quarter TD pass to Welker. "The thing about it now is that none of it matters," Brady said. "For 17 games, it all comes down to this."

Jan. 20 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 21, Chargers 12
In frigid Foxborough, it was all warm thoughts as the Patriots were wrapping up a trip to Glendale, Ariz., for their fourth Super Bowl berth in seven years. Their guests from the west were severely damaged on offense (Tomlinson barely played, Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates could barely run) and were forced to settle for four field goals, three times after getting into the red zone. That wasn't going to be enough, even with Brady throwing an uncharacteristic three picks, including one in the end zone that could've wrapped it up in the third. Instead, he took care of that early in the fourth with a 6-yard toss to Welker. The key was Maroney, who had his fourth 100-yard effort in five games and scored for the fifth straight contest. With 18 wins in the books and just one to go, the Patriots could finally talk about the Super Bowl without being guilty of looking ahead. "We'll try to elevate our game for one last performance," said Brady, who improved to 14-2 as a starter in the playoffs.