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Associated Press 9y

New England Patriots Game Recaps

NFL, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens

Game 1

Dolphins 33, Patriots 20

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Tannehill threw for two scores and the Dolphins overpowered New England after halftime.

The Dolphins outscored New England 23-0 in the second half.

Tannehill had touchdown throws to Lamar Miller and Mike Wallace as Miami debuted a faster-paced offense. The Dolphins' defense made four sacks, all in the second half, and recovered two fumbles.

Tom Brady threw a scoring pass to Rob Gronkowski, and Shane Vereen had a TD rushing for New England.

It was New England's first loss in an opener since 2003, and marks the first time the Patriots will not be at least tied for the AFC East lead since Week 3 of 2012.

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Game 2

Patriots 30, Vikings 7

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tom Brady and the Patriots took advantage of Adrian Peterson's absence and Matt Cassel's four interceptions.

Chandler Jones returned a field goal he blocked for a touchdown right before halftime.

Brady went 15 for 22 for 149 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers, and Cassel's first start against his close friend and former mentor was a dud. Devin McCourty, Darrelle Revis, Logan Ryan and Dominique Easley all picked him off, setting up 17 points for the Patriots, prompting "Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!" chants from the crowd for the rookie Bridgewater.

Peterson was shelved for the game after a charge of child abuse was levied against him two days earlier in Texas.

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Game 3

Patriots 16, Raiders 9

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass, Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals and sluggish New England held on to beat Oakland when defensive tackle Vince Wilfork intercepted a pass near his goal line.

Darren McFadden's potential tying touchdown run was nullified by a holding penalty. A play later, Wilfork grabbed the ball when Logan Ryan jarred it loose from intended receiver Denarius Moore with 51 seconds left.

The Patriots (2-1) won their 12th home opener in 13 seasons, while the Raiders (0-3) lost their 15th straight game in the Eastern time zone. They were held to three field goals by Sebastian Janikowski.

Brady became the third quarterback with 150 regular-season wins behind Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning, who came into Sunday with 169. He is 57-5 in his last 62 home games, including the playoffs.

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Game 4

Chiefs 41, Patriots 14

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamaal Charles returned from an injury to score three touchdowns, Tom Brady was picked off twice and Kansas City beat New England 41-14 to hand Bill Belichick one of his worst losses as coach of the Patriots.

Charles, who missed last week's win in Miami with a sprained ankle, ran for 92 yards and a score. He also caught two short TD passes from Alex Smith, who finished with 248 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

The Chiefs (2-2) ended a four-game skid at Arrowhead Stadium by handing the Patriots (2-2) their worst loss since losing to San Diego 41-17 in 2005.

Along with throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, Brady was strip-sacked by Tamba Hali to step up a field goal. Brady finished 14 of 23 for 159 yards.

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Game 5

Patriots 43, Bengals 17

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady rebounded from the second-worst loss of his career by throwing for two touchdowns and becoming the sixth quarterback to pass for 50,000 yards.

Six days after a 41-14 loss to Kansas City, the Patriots' offense broke out of its season-long slump. Brady threw for 292 yards and Stevan Ridley gained 117 of the team's 221 yards rushing against a team that had allowed an NFL-low 11 points per game.

The Patriots (3-2) surpassed that by scoring on their first two possessions on Ridley's 1-yard run and Brady's 17-yard pass to Tim Wright. They led 20-3 at halftime before the Bengals) cut the lead to 10 points on Andy Dalton's 37-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu.

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Game 6

Patriots 37, Bills 22

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes and had his 60th 300-yard game to lead New England past Buffalo.

Brandon LaFell had two touchdown catches, including a 56-yarder, and the Patriots forced three turnovers that resulted in 13 points in the second quarter.

Brady finished 27 of 37 for 361 yards to spoil the Bills' first game under new owners Terry and Kim Pegula. Brady is 23-2 against AFC East rival Buffalo with the Patriots (4-2).

Kyle Orton went 24 of 38 for 299 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a lost fumble in his second start for Buffalo since replacing EJ Manuel.

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Game 7

Patriots 27, Jets 25

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and New England held off the New York Jets 27-25 when Nick Folk's 58-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the last play.

The surprisingly competitive Jets suffered their sixth straight loss after taking a 19-17 lead with just under 9 minutes left in the third quarter on Chris Ivory's 1-yard run.

Stephen Gostkowski put the Patriots (5-2) ahead to stay with his second field goal, a 36-yarder with 4:10 to go in the third. Brady's 19-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola gave them an eight-point lead with 4:10 remaining.

The Jets made it 27-25 on Geno Smith's 10-yard scoring pass to Jeff Cumberland with 2:31 left, but Smith's pass for the 2-point conversion was incomplete.

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Game 8

Patriots 51, Bears 23

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady threw five scoring passes and the streaking Patriots crammed three touchdowns into the last two minutes of the first half.

New England (6-2) scored on all five of its possessions in the half -- and one of Chicago's -- on its way to its fourth straight win. The Bears fell behind 45-7 early in the second half and lost for the fourth time in five games.

In one of the best statistical games of his brilliant career, Brady completed 30 of 35 passes for 354 yards. He threw three scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski and one each to Tim Wright and Brandon LaFell.

Defensive end Rob Ninkovich scored with 55 seconds left in the first half on a 15-yard return of Jay Cutler's fumble.

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Game 9

Patriots 43, Broncos 21

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady outdueled Peyton Manning, throwing for four touchdowns, and Julian Edelman returned a punt 84 yards for a score in leading New England past Denver 43-21.

The 16th matchup between the all-time great quarterbacks wasn't particularly competitive after the first quarter.

New England (7-2) won its fifth straight, halting the four-game winning streak for Denver (6-2) in emphatic fashion. Brady has 18 TD passes and one interception in those five victories.

Manning fell to 2-7 at Gillette Stadium and 5-11 overall against Brady, even though he threw for 438 yards and two touchdowns. He has at least two TD passes in 14 consecutive games, an NFL record.

In his 200th career start, Brady passed for 333 yards. He has won 155 of those, the most for any quarterback in that many starts.

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Game 10

Patriots 42, Colts 20

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jonas Gray rushed for 199 yards and a franchise-record four touchdowns in his fourth career game.

Tom Brady threw two TD passes as the AFC-best Patriots (8-2) earned their sixth consecutive victory. New England also has won five in a row against Indianapolis (6-4).

Brady finished 19 of 30 for 257 yards with two interceptions.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was 23 of 39 for 303 yards with two scores. He extended his franchise record of consecutive 300-yard games to eight and moved within one of Drew Brees' NFL record.

But the unheralded Gray was the surprise star. His first two scoring runs gave New England a 14-10 halftime lead. His other two helped put the game away in the second half.

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Game 11

Patriots 34, Lions 9

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns in a pass-heavy offense against the NFL's stingiest rushing defense and New England stretched their winning streak to seven games with a victory over Detroit.

The Patriots led 24-6 at halftime as Brady repeatedly found wide-open receivers while the Lions struggled on offense.

New England (9-2) routed a division leader for the third consecutive game, following wins over Denver and Indianapolis.

LeGarrette Blount rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns three days after signing with New England after being cut by Pittsburgh. In the win over the Colts, the Patriots stuck with the running game as Jonas Gray rushed 37 times for 201 yards and four touchdowns. After being sent home from Friday's practice for reporting late, he didn't play at all.

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Game 12

Packers 26, Patriots 21

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns, Eddie Lacy powered for key yards in the fourth quarter and Green Bay fended off the New England 26-21.

Rodgers bested Tom Brady in the first meeting between the star quarterbacks as starters. Rodgers connected with Richard Rodgers and Jordy Nelson for long touchdowns.

Leading by five, the defense held firm late for the Packers. Mike Daniels and Mike Neal combined to sack Brady on third down for a 9-yard loss, and kicker Stephen Gostkowkski pushed a 47-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 2:40 left.

The Packers sealed it after Rodgers converted to Cobb on third-and-4 with the Patriots out of timeouts.

Brady finished with two touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell for New England (9-3), which had its seven-game winning streak snapped. The second score came from 15 yards early in the fourth quarter to get within 23-21.

The lead could have been wider for the Packers if not for some hiccups in the red zone.

Green Bay settled for four field goals from Mason Crosby of 35 yards or less, including a 28-yarder to make it a five-point lead with 8:41 left. That kick came after rookie Davante Adams dropped a potential touchdown pass on third-and-5 from the New England 10.

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Game 13

Patriots 23, Chargers 14

SAN DIEGO -- Tom Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and the Patriots (10-3) won for the eighth time in nine games. It clinched their 12th straight 10-win season for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

The Patriots spent the week in San Diego following a loss at Green Bay in order to cut down on late-season travel.

New England went ahead 16-14 on Stephen Gostkowski's 38-yard field goal with 10:34 left. Brady faked a handoff and hit Edelman on a slant at about the 45 on the touchdown. Edelman broke two tackles and was gone.

Brady completed 28 of 44 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

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Game 14

Patriots 41, Dolphins 13

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England clinched the AFC East title for the sixth straight season as Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in a big third quarter.

Leading 14-13 at halftime, the Patriots (11-3) scored on four consecutive series while piling up 24 points, the most in any third period in team history.

The Dolphins cut the lead to one point at halftime on Ryan Tannehill's 32-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace.

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Game 15

Patriots 17, Jets 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jonas Gray scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter after the Patriots intercepted Geno Smith, and New England clinched a first-round playoff bye.

Tom Brady threw a 3-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski for the Patriots (12-3).

With the Jets (3-12) leading 13-10 late in the third quarter, Smith's pass for Jace Amaro hung in the air for an easy interception by Jamie Collins -- and led to Gray's score minutes later.

Nick Folk's 52-yard field goal attempt could have given New York a lead with just over five minutes left, but it appeared to be partially blocked and fell short. Brady and the Patriots then ran out the clock.

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Game 16

Bills 17, Patriots 9

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Kyle Orton threw for one touchdown, Anthony Dixon ran for another and the Bills finished their first winning season in 10 years with a win over the going-through-the motions Patriots.

With the top seed in the AFC playoffs already clinched, the Patriots used quarterback Tom Brady for only the first half and held out tight end Rob Gronkowski and five other starters.

The victory snapped several streaks: Buffalo's 0-12 record at Gillette Stadium and New England's 35 straight home wins against AFC teams.

It was a price the Patriots (12-4) were willing to pay to protect key players, although left tackle Nate Solder didn't return after hurting his knee late in the first half.

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Divisional Playoffs

Patriots 35, Ravens 31

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady's third touchdown pass gave New England its first lead with about five minutes remaining and the Patriots reached their fourth straight AFC championship game with a 35-31 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Justin Tucker had given the Ravens a 31-28 lead on a 25-yard field goal with 10:17 left. Then Brady directed a masterful 74-yard drive. He completed eight of nine passes for 72 yards and ran for a first down and put the Patriots ahead with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell.

The sixth-seeded Ravens had won two of three playoff games in Foxborough over the past five seasons.

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AFC Championship

Patriots 45, Colts 7

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns and LeGarrette Blount ran in three more to lead the New England Patriots into the Super Bowl with a 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots won their eighth AFC championship their sixth under Brady and coach Bill Belichick.

New England (14-4) opened a 14-point lead in the first half and then broke it open in a driving rain with three third-quarter touchdowns and another to start the fourth. That made it the second-most lopsided game in AFC championship history.

Brady completed 23 of 35 passes for 226 yards. Blount ran 30 times for 148 yards. Andrew Luck completed 12 of 33 passes for 126 yards with two interceptions for the Colts.

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