Patriots vs Broncos Recap
New England lights up Broncos in 41-7 win
Offense: Finally the Patriots offense that many expected to see from the beginning of the season showed up. Cassel was able to complete every type of pass, the running game was unstoppable and extremely effective, and the offensive line had a lot of fun throughout the game. This dominating performance lead to 41 points and hopefully instilled a new sense of confidence in the players, even if they went up against a poor defensive unit. Cassel threw for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns and was not afraid to take chances and complete deep passes. He controlled the game while letting the runningbacks set up most of the scoring drives, as they gained 257 yards on 38 attempts. For the first time, the offense moved the ball with ease for the entire game and showed no signs of slowing down. Sammy Morris and Benjarvus Green Ellis split the carries and combined for 2 touchdowns and 203 yards. Randy Moss had a nice peformance with 69 receiving yards and a couple of touchdown receptions, but Cassel was clearly the most impressive on the field. He exuded confidence and ran each play to near perfection. It helps when the offensive line lets a quarterback stand in the pocket and move around freely and when receivers are running untouched. The Patriots simply confused and outplayed the Broncos defense in every quarter. Coming into this matchup, it was unsure whether the team could break out of their struggles, regardless of the quality of the opposing defense. Towards the end of the game, it was good to see backups getting some time and being evaluated because injuries are a concern. Although this performance was impressive, it did come against one of the weaker defenses in the league, so it will take much more time to determine where the offense is at. Next week, the Patriots play another struggling and overmatched defense in the Rams, so it will be an opporunity to build on their short term success.
Defense: It was a shock and a very nice surprise to see the Patriots shut out the Broncos for 3 quarters and hold them to 7 points for the game. To me, Jay Cutler is an underrated and effective quarterback and to see him scramble and be chased across the field was an example of how well the defensive line performed. For any team to hold the high powered and dangerous Broncos offense to just 169 passing yards, the secondary coverage and pass rush must be at their best. Cutler could not get any consistent drives going and when he did complete a pass with ease, it was for short yardage. The deep routes and yards after the catch were not there and that caused the Broncos to become desperate and take unnecessary risks. The Patriots forced 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles and many short possessions allowed the defense to rest. Of the 6 times that the Broncos were in Patriots territory, they scored just once, on a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Only 2 Broncos possessions lasted more than 3 minutes and only 3 more than 5 plays, so the Patriots stopped them pretty quickly. Tha pass rush which was inconsistent for much of the season put pressure on Cutler on the majority of pass attempts. The tackling was solid as there were several defenders around the ballcarriers and the coverage on most routes was tight. This was obviously the best performance of the season and if every unit can stay focused for next week's game, a similar type of domination may take place against the Rams.
Special Teams: Stephen Gostkoswki made both field goal attempts and all five extra point attempts. Chris Hanson punted three times for an average of 39 yards. The Patriots averaged 21 yards on punt returns and 23 yards on kickoff returns.
By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent