Game notes

Final game notes, courtesy of the Patriots' media relations staff:

PATRIOTS WIN 12th GAME OF 2007 SEASON
The Patriots have won 12 games in 2007, becoming the fourth team in the franchise’s 48-season history to win 12 or more games. The 2007 squad joins the 2003 and 2004 teams (14 wins) and the 2006 team (12 wins) as the only squads in team history to win a dozen or more games in a season.

BRADY THROWS 40th AND 41st TOUCHDOWN PASSES OF THE SEASON
Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes against Baltimore to raise his season total to 41 scoring passes, tying the fourth-highest single-season total in NFL history (Kurt Warner, 1999). Brady reached the 40-touchdown mark when he hit Randy Moss for a 3-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to tie the game at 17. Brady became the fourth player in NFL history to throw 40 or more touchdown passes in a season. Brady joins Peyton Manning (49 touchdown passes in 2004), Dan Marino (48 in 1984; 44 in 1986) and Kurt Warner (41 in 1999). Brady’s 41 touchdown passes have eclipsed the Patriots’ old single-season mark of 31, set by Vito “Babe” Parilli in 1964.

BRADY LEADS 27th CAREER COMEBACK
Tom Brady led the Patriots to victory following a 24-17 fourth-quarter deficit, marking the 27th time in his career that he has led the Patriots to a win following a fourth-quarter deficit or tie. He has accomplished the feat three times this season and three times in his last four games. He accomplished the feat for the 21st time in the regular season and has also done it six times in the playoffs (including three times in the Super Bowl. New England also rebounded to win following a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit at Indianapolis on Nov. 4 and came back from a 28-24 fourth-quarter deficit against Philadelphia on Nov. 25. Against Baltimore, the Patriots trailed 24-17 following a 1-yard touchdown catch by Daniel Wilcox with 14:25 left in the game. The Patriots were forced to punt on their next possession, but the New England defense came up with a key turnover on a James Sanders interception at the 1-yard line to give the Patriots possession. A 42-yard return by Sanders set up a 5-play, 47-yard drive that ended in a 38-yard field goal that cut the lead to 24-20 with 8:41 left. The Patriots defense forced a three-and-out, but New England’s offense was subsequently forced to punt the ball back to Baltimore. New England’s defense forced yet another three-and-out, setting up a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a 27-24 Patriots lead on an 8-yard scoring pass from Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds left. On the final play of the game, Baltimore completed a Hail Mary pass, but Eric Alexander brought down Baltimore’s Mark Clayton at the Patriots’ 3-yard line as time expired to preserve New England’s comeback win.

GAFFNEY CATCHES GAME-WINNING TOUCHDOWN PASS
Jabar Gaffney caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 44 seconds left in the game to give the Patriots a 27-24 lead. The touchdown was Gaffney’s third of the season and his second in as many weeks. It was his 11th career touchdown catch and his fourth since joining the Patriots in 2006.

MOSS TIES CAREER HIGH WITH 17th TOUCHDOWN CATCH
Randy Moss caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the third quarter, tying his single-season career high with his 17th touchdown reception of the season. Moss also caught 17 touchdown passes for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 and 2003. Moss’s 17 touchdown receptions are a Patriots record for most scoring catches in a season, topping Stanley Morgan’s 12 touchdown catches in 1979.

MOSS’S 17 OVERALL TOUCHDOWNS TIE HIGHEST SINGLE-SEASON TOTAL IN PATRIOTS HISTORY
Randy Moss’s 17 touchdowns in 2007 tie the highest single-season overall touchdown total in team history, equaling Curtis Martin’s 17 touchdowns in 1996. That season, Martin scored 14 rushing touchdowns and also had three touchdown receptions.

JAMES SANDERS INTERCEPTS SECOND PASS OF THE SEASON
James Sanders intercepted a Kyle Boller pass at the Patriots’ 1-yard line with 10:37 remaining in the game and the Patriots facing a 24-17 deficit. The interception stopped Baltimore’s bid to extend its lead and kept the Ravens off of the scoreboard after gaining possession at New England’s 26-yard line. Sanders returned the interception 42 yards to set up a Patriots field goal drive that cut the deficit to 24-20 with 8:41 remaining in the game. Sanders’s interception was his second of the season and his second in as many weeks. He also intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia on Nov. 25. Sanders’s two interceptions this season set a new career high – he had one interception in each of his two NFL seasons heading into the 2007 campaign. His interception against Baltimore was the fourth of his three-year career.

MOSS REACHES 750 CAREER RECEPTIONS
Randy Moss caught the 750th pass of his career, a 3-yard touchdown reception from Tom Brady in the third quarter. Moss became the 25th player in NFL history to achieve the 750-catch milestone.

GOSTKOWSKI NAILS TWO FIELD GOALS
Stephen Gostkowski was 2-for-2 on field goals and nailed a 38-yard field goal with 8:41 in the game to cut New England’s deficit to 24-20. He also hit a 21-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. That field goal raised his career point total to 200 points, making him the 19th player in team history to reach the milestone. The two field goals against the Ravens raised Gostkowski’s mark to 14-for-16 on the season (87.5 percent). He has made 35 of his last 38 attempts (92.1 percent) dating back to Nov. 5, 2006. Since joining the Patriots as a fourth-round draft choice in 2006, Gostkowski has made 34-of-42 regular-season attempts (81.0 percent) and 8-of-8 playoff attempts (100.0 percent for a total of 42-of-50 (84.0 percent).

TWO PLAYS OF 40-PLUS YARDS
Donte Stallworth hauled in a 42-yard pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter as part of the Patriots’ game-opening field goal drive and Laurence Maroney gained 43 yards on a catch-and-run play in the fourth quarter. The plays marked the ninth and 10th passes of 40 yards or more for the Patriots in 2007. The 40-plus yard reception was Stallworth’s second of the season, trailing his 69-yard catch at Dallas on Oct. 14 that stands as New England’s longest pass play of the year.

MARONEY SETS CAREER HIGH FOR RECEIVING YARDS
Laurence Maroney caught two passes for 79 yards, setting a new single-game career high for receiving yards. He snared a 43-yard pass in the fourth quarter and a 36-yard pass in the third quarter. Maroney topped his previous career high of 61 receiving yards, achieved on Sept. 24, 2006 against Denver.