Tulsa World: Around The NFL: Brady brilliant

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

Around The NFL: Brady brilliant

Tom Brady's five touchdown passes in the first half shattered an NFL record and fueled New England to one of the biggest blowouts in NFL history. The Patriots hammered the winless Titans 59-0. STEPHAN SAVOI / Associated Press

By Wire Reports
Published: 10/19/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 10/19/2009 6:47 AM

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for an NFL-record five touchdown passes in the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.

Brady threw for another TD in the third quarter, matching his career high, before leaving the game. Backup Brian Hoyer ran it in from 1 yard to make it 59-0 — a franchise record for points.

Hoyer also led the Patriots deep into Titans territory in the fourth, but New England turned the ball over on downs after a short pass on fourth-and-7.

The record for TD passes in an entire game is seven, by five players — all before the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Since then, 14 quarterbacks have thrown for six TDs in a game, including Brady against Miami in 2007.

Brady, who finished with 380 yards and six touchdown passes, threw two TD passes each to Wes Welker and Randy Moss in the second quarter, and another to Kevin Faulk. He hit Moss again early in the third quarter to make it 52-0.

The beating the Patriots put on the Titans also ranks among the worst in league history.

Only five other games - all listed at right - have had wider margins of victory.

Speaking of the Titans, is this the same team that held home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs last season with a 13-3 record?

Tennessee won its first 10 games last season. This season, its lost its first six.

"It's about as bad as it gets. Period. The end," said Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins, who threw for four interceptions in the 2001 Super Bowl. "There's no room for whining or complaining or pointing fingers. I am not going to throw helmets, scream at guys or call people out. We will come back to work, and that's the bottom line."

Quarterbacks shine

Brady wasn't the only quarterback who had a huge game Sunday, including several signal-callers who threw for more than 350 yards:

Matt Schaub, Atlanta: Was 28-of-40 for 392 yards, the second-highest total of his career, and also tied his career best with four TD passes in a 28-17 win at Cincinnati.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh: Second in the league in passing and on pace for what would be his best statistical season, he was 23-of-35 for 417 yards in a 27-14 win against Cleveland.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore: He threw for 385 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens in a 33-31 loss at Minnesota. Flacco threw for 196 yards and two TDs in the fourth quarter alone.

Drew Brees, New Orleans: He went 23-of-30 passes for 369 yards and four scores in a 48-27 rout of the Giants, giving him 101 TD passes since the Saints signed him in 2006.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers: He threw for 358 yards with two touchdowns in a 26-0 victory over the Lions.

Sunday's other stars

Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: Set a franchise-record with 210 yards rushing and the Jets finished with 318 yards on the ground in a 16-13 overtime loss to Buffalo.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers : Gained a season-best 152 yards on 30 carries and scored twice, including the winning TD with 29 seconds left in a 28-21 victory at Tampa Bay.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals: Tied his career high with 13 receptions for 100 yards and a TD in a 27-3 win at Seattle.

Hines Ward, WR, Steelers: Made eight catches for 159 yards and a touchdown, while Santonio Holmes had five for 104 in a 27-14 victory over Cleveland.

Marques Colston, WR, Saints: Caught eight passes for 166 yards and a 12-yard touchdown in a 48-27 win over the Giants.

Ryan Succop, K, Chiefs: Kicked four field goals, including the go-ahead 46-yarder with 3:36 to play, in a 14-6 win over the Redskins. He was the final player selected in this year's draft.

Joshua Cribbs, R, Browns: Had a 98-yard kick return TD in a 27-14 loss at Pittsburgh.

Jairus Byrd, DB, Bills: Had two of the Bills' five interceptions of Mark Sanchez in a 16-13 overtime win at the Jets.

Where did that come from?

The Chiefs, Raiders and Bills haven't exactly had banner seasons this year - or for several years - but they proved the adage that anybody can win on any given Sunday.

The trio came into Sunday's games with a combined record of 2-13, yet each team came up with a win.

The Redskins have plenty of problems of their own, but to lose to the Chiefs at home? Kansas City had lost 28 of 30 games before winning 14-6 at Washington.

Meanwhile, the hapless Raiders somehow led Philadelphia from the get-go, riding an early touchdown pass from JaMarcus Russell to Zach Miller in a stunning 13-9 win over Donovan McNabb and the Eagles.

Rex Ryan likely has gone from Hall of Fame candidate to dog house with Jets fans in a few short weeks after his team lost to the Bills 16-13 in overtime.

Not only is that only Buffalo's second win, but it's three straight losses for Ryan's crew.

First step toward the door?

The Redskins are taking away head coach Jim Zorn's play-calling duties.

Zorn discussed the change with executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato after Washington's 14-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

The team plans to announce a new play caller Monday.

Cerrato told Zorn he believes the coach had too many responsibilities and someone else should call the plays.

What they're writing

From Bob Glauber of Newsday:

Statement game? The Giants had better hope not.

If they came to the Big Easy to get a better read on their 5-0 record built largely against the NFL's junior varsity, then the Saints declared in no uncertain terms that the Giants need to do better than that.

After a 48-27 thumping at the Superdome Sunday against a well-rested opponent coming off a bye week, the Giants left as dazed and confused as any reveler staggering home from a long night on Bourbon Street.

"It's not the way I imagined it," said quarterback Eli Manning, the New Orleans native playing in the building where his father starred for so many years. "If you play this game long enough, you're going to have a bad week."

This was supposed to be where the Giants could finally measure themselves against the best after beating up on the worst.

Instead, it turned into a statement game for New Orleans, which can legitimately lay claim to being the best team in the NFL.

Streaking

Pittsburgh has won 12 in a row over Cleveland ... The Bucs (0-6) have started a season with at least six straight losses for the first time since 1985. They've dropped 10 straight dating to a lopsided loss at Carolina in December, the franchise's longest since 1977, when Tampa Bay was in the midst of an NFL record 26-game skid. .... St. Louis (0-6) extended the NFL's longest current losing streak to 16 games with a 23-20 OT loss at Jacksonville.

Stats and such

Washington has played winless teams in every game, yet is 2-4 ... The Panthers rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns to beat the winless Buccaneers 28-21. Heading into Sunday, the Panthers were averaging 97.3 yards on the ground — 23rd in the league ... Pittsburgh outgained Cleveland 543-197 in a 27-14 win ... There were no turnovers in the Vikings' 33-31 win over the Ravens ... The Saints (5-0) are off to their best start in 16 years. They have scored on each of their opening drives this season, with four TDs and one field goal.

Ejected

Carolina safety Dante Wesley was ejected late in the first half after he launched himself into Bucs punt returner Clifton Smith, who had signaled for a fair catch. The hit with 10 seconds left in the second quarter brought players from both teams off the sidelines. Wesley appeared to leave his feet and strike Smith in the upper body with his left shoulder. Smith remained on the ground for a few minutes, then was helped to his feet and walked off the field. He missed the remainder of the game with a concussion.

Speaking

"We went out and threw a fight on somebody and said, 'Enough. Let's play.' That's all. There's no magic words or anything." — Oakland coach Tom Cable after a 13-9 upset of Philadelphia.

DUBIOUS HISTORY

The Patriots' 59-0 rout of Tennessee on Sunday ranked among the worst in league history. It was the largest margin of victory since Los Angeles crushed Atlanta by the same score during the 1976 season.

Largest Margin

73: Chicago def. Washington 73-0, Dec. 8, 1940 (NFL Championship)

64: Philadelphia def. Cincinnati 64-0, Nov. 6, 1934

62: Akron def. Oorang 62-0, Oct. 29, 1922

60: Rock Island def. Evansville 60-0, Oct. 15, 1922

60: Chicago Cardinals def. Rochester 60-0, Oct. 7, 1923

59: Cleveland def. Washington 62-3, Nov. 7, 1954

59: Cleveland def. Rochester 59-0, Oct. 26, 1924

59: Chicago Cardinals def. Milwaukee 59-0, Dec. 10, 1925

59: Los Angeles def. Atlanta 59-0, Dec. 4, 1976

59: New England def. Tennessee 59-0, Oct. 18, 2009

Largest Shutout

73: Chicago def. Washington 73-0, Dec. 8, 1940 (NFL Championship)

64: Philadelphia def. Cincinnati 64-0, Nov. 6, 1934

62: Akron def. Oorang 62-0, Oct. 29, 1922

60: Rock Island def. Evansville 60-0, Oct. 15, 1922

60: Chicago Cardinals def. Rochester 60-0, Oct. 7, 1923

59: Cleveland def. Rochester 59-0, Oct. 26, 1924

59: Chicago Cardinals def. Milwaukee 59-0, Dec. 10, 1925

59: Los Angeles def. Atlanta 59-0, Dec. 4, 1976

59: New England def. Tennessee 59-0, Oct. 18, 2009 By Wire Reports

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

1 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

Report Comment

forkandknife, Tulsa (10/19/2009 9:59:14 AM)

He looked like the Brady we used to see. Great job!

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.