With the Buffalo Bills completing a spectacular comeback against Oakland and the New York Jets dismantling the hapless Jaguars, the AFC East suddenly had two 2-0 teams; neither of which was the Patriots. This looks like it will be a very tough division to come out of this year so it was important for New England to win today and keep up with its division rivals. Needless to say, the Patriots played some excellent football for a second straight week and took care of business against the Chargers of San Diego by a margin of 35-21. This was the tenth straight regular season win for the Patriots, making Bill Belichick only the second coach ever (behind Don Schula) to have three separate streaks of ten or more wins over his career. The defense answered the call against the Chargers by forcing four turnovers and (for the second straight week) having a four-down goal-line stand. If last week's performance on D was a C+ this week is easily a B+. Twenty-one points is still a lot to give up to a team (this number has to be less by the time the Patriots reach the playoffs) even if that team is the explosive Chargers. The forced turnovers were a big positive and it was a much better overall performance. It will be interesting to see if the Defense can keep improving week to week, if they do watch out!
On the offensive side of the ball it was more of the same. Tom Brady is looking to start a new streak of accuracy and got off to a quick start (3 Touchdowns 0 Picks, 31/40 passing) for good measure he also threw for over 400 yards again. I know it is a little too early to talk about MVP awards, but if Brady can keep having games like this he should win it unanimously. Another bright spot for the offense (and trust me there are a lot) was the emergence of Ochocinco. Now, he did not have a spectacular game by any means but he did make catches which had an impact on the game (including a 30 yarder). I said this last week: If he is your worst player on offence you are golden and it applies again, once he gels with Brady more expect more catches and Touchdowns. His partner in crime Deion Branch once again showed his excellence, easily destroying the Chargers secondary for 8 catches and 129 yards. The Patriots two tight-ends (Gronkowski and Hernandez) caught all the touchdown passes that Brady threw this game and are emerging as a very potent duo. If they can keep playing at such a high level I really can not see how any team can stop New England, giving Brady five legitimate receivers is like playing Madden against a baby. Also, if New England can keep going on mammoth 99-yard drives immediately following a goal-line stand, it will make things much easier on their defense. One last note on the offense: They can run the ball too. BJGE (yes, I am too lazy to type out his full name) gutted out a solid game with an excellent 4.1yds/carry including the game-icing touchdown run. The key for the patriots going forward will be how they fare against their division rivals. They can not afford to fall back as it is shaping up to be a very tough race for home field advantage.
Next week we will get to see if the Bills are for real when the Patriots visit them in a big early season game. If the Bills win they will announce their arrival, if the Patriots win; they will be 3-0 with 2 division wins and 2 road games out of the way. It's not a must-win by any means necessary, but if I'm coach Bill Belichik, I would want to keep this momentum going.
I will be covering New England throughout the season, for more of My work follow me on Twitter @ Daki_4, and follow the other writers as well
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