Brady’s six TDs wing Pats past winless Titans

FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots put up numbers on Sunday at Gillette Stadium that were right out of Madden NFL 10 and the virtual gridiron.The Pats set a franchise record for yards in a game (619)and points in a quarter (35). Quarterback Tom Brady threw an NFL record five touchdown passes in the second quarter and tied his own club record of six in a franchise record 59-0 clobbering of the hapless Tennessee Titans in an unexpected snowstorm.The 59-point margin of victory tied a modern day NFL record set by the L.A. Rams in a 59-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in 1970. It also eclipsed the Patriot record of 53 set back in 1979 against the Jets.New England’s 45-0 halftime lead was even enough to get a place in the NFL record book.”It was a good effort all the way around across the board,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We executed at a good level. The team had a good week of practice and it showed.”The Patriots came into the game as the only team in the NFL not to post a pass play of over 40 yards and to have a run of over 20 yards this season. Well, they did away with that number in a big way.Brady was almost perfect, completing 29-of-34 passes for 380 yards against a depleted Tennessee secondary while Laurence Maroney stepped in for an injured Sammy Morris and rushed for 123 yards and a 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter.”They gave us some opportunities (Sunday) and we finally took advantage of them,” Brady said. “Coach Belichick has been on us for being the only team not to have a 40-plus yard pass and a run of over 20 yards. Maybe this will get him off our case for a week or two.”The Patriot defense also stepped up in a huge way. After being ripped apart by Denver last week, New England held the Titans to 186 total yards, including an amazing minus-7 in the pass game.”As an offense, to not put up any points is tough,” Titans fullback Ahmard Hall said.How dominant was New England on Sunday? The Patriots averaged a ridiculous 8.0 yards per snap and were two yards away late in the fourth quarter from scoring 60 in an NFL game for the first time in since the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2000.”We ran the ball well, Tommy (Brady) threw it really well and the receivers got open and made plays,” Patriot center Dan Koppen said.Wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker feasted on rookie cornerbacks Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty all game. Moss registered the 62nd 100-yard game of his career, catching eight passes for 129 yards and three scores. Welker, meanwhile, set a career high for receiving yards with 150 and caught two, second quarter touchdowns.”We made a lot of mistakes and we played a really good football team,” Titans quarterback Kerry Collins said. “When you put those two things together, it’s going to be a bad loss.”Leading 10-0 after the first quarter, Brady and the Patriot passing game laid waste to the Titans in a second quarter explosion of 252 passing yards and a franchise record 35 points.First it was a flea flicker from Brady to Randy Moss that got the express going. Then less than a minute later, Brady scrambled left and threw across his body to Moss running along the back of the end zone for a 24-0 lead.After Collins’ ill advised down field pass was intercepted, Brady got Kevin Faulk in the act as the venerable running back caught a swing pass and raced 37 yards for another touchdown.And for good measure, Brady even got the two-minute drill to work for the Patriots. He hit Welker for a touchdown from 38 out with 1:53 left and then found the speedster again with 12 seconds left to complete a complete dismantling of the Titans.