Pats Polar Express Steams Through Chicago 36-7
Monday, December 13, 2010
Throw an obstacle at the New England Patriots, any obstacle. On the road? No problem. A (9-3) opponent with a tough defense? They’ll handle it. Inclement weather? Whatever. At this point, there appears to be nothing that can stop this Patriots team.
Sunday was the latest example of New England’s dominance. The Patriots sprinted out to a 33-0 halftime lead in Chicago on their way to a 36-7 drubbing of the Bears.
The Bears were supposed to be one of the best teams the NFC had to offer. You wouldn’t have known it by the way New England controlled the game.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAmidst adverse conditions of snow, wind and bitter cold temperatures, the Pats came out on fire at Soldier Field. After going 3 and out on their opening drive, the Pats put together an impressive 12-play, 90 yard drive which was capped off by a Tom Brady 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie TE Rob Gronkowski putting New England up 7-0.
After the Pats defense forced Chicago to punt for the second time in as many possessions, Brady and the offense put together another impressive drive. This time New England drove 87 yards on 11 plays with Danny Woodhead punching it in from 3 yards out to put the Pats up 14-0.
On the first play from scrimmage for Chicago on the ensuing drive, rookie Devin McCourty stripped Johnny Knox of the ball which was recovered by Gary Guyton and returned 35 yards for a touchdown making it 21-0.
After another Chicago drive which ended with a punt, the Pats Julian Edelman gave the offense a short field by returning it to the Bears 30 yard line. Unable to capitalize on the great field position, New England had to settle for a Shane Graham 30 yard field goal which made the score 24-0.
On the Bears next possession, Jerod Mayo recovered a Jay Cutler fumble inside the 10-yard line. Again, however, the Pats would have to settle for 3 as a Graham field goal made it 27-0 Patriots.
Chicago would go 3 and out against the Pats D again forcing Brad Maynard to punt it away to Julian Edelman. The second year player returned the punt 71 yards for a touchdown which was nullified on a holding call.
It wouldn’t matter on this day. Brady and the offense closed out the half by marching 80 yards in 1:38. On the last play of the half, Brady hit Deion Branch for a 59 yard touchdown making it 33-0 Patriots. The Bears were sent to the locker room at half to a chorus of boos from their fans.
“I’m proud of our football team today, short week, coming after a tough game against the Jets,” said Bill Belichick. “Coming in here and playing the Bears, it was a big challenge for us, but they really rose to it.”
Brady (27-40, 369 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) threw for 195 yards and 2 TD’s in the first half alone. It was his eighth straight game without throwing an interception and his NFL record 6th straight game where he threw for 2 or more touchdowns with no interceptions.
Deion Branch (151 yards, 1 TD) and Wes Welker (115 yards) led the Patriots in receiving while BenJarvis Green-Ellis racked up 87 yards on the ground.
The victory allowed New England to become the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot. It’s now the 8th time in the last 10 years that the Patriots have made it to the postseason. The only two years where the Pats did not make it to the playoffs during that stretch (2002 and 2008), they finished tied for the best record in the AFC East but lost the division both years on a tie-breaker.
With the Jets 10-6 loss to Miami Sunday, New England now leads the AFC East by two games. The Patriots host Green Bay on Sunday Night Football next week. The Packers may not have the services of QB Aaron Rodgers who left Sunday’s game in Detroit after suffering a mild concussion.
NOTES:
-For the season, Tom Brady has completed 67% of his passes for 3,398 yards, 29 TD’s and just 4 INT’s. His quarterback rating is 109.9 for the season which ranks #1 in the NFL. His 29 touchdown passes also lead the league.
-Brady also moved into the top 20 on the all-time career passing yardage list with 34,242 career passing yards. He passed Steve DeBerg to move into 20th place on that list. Minnesota’s Brett Favre has the most career passing yardage with 71,775.
-Devin McCourty suffered a rib injury in the second quarter and did not return to the game. McCourty told the media that he was okay following the game.
-Gary Guyton made the most of his starting role on Sunday. He got the start for rookie LB Brandon Spikes who was suspended for four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Guyton returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and intercepted a pass in the third quarter. “Gary did a great job for us,” said Bill Belichick. “He has played well for three years and he does a lot of things for us. It’s always good to have him in the game.”
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