Final Score: Patriots 43, Bengals 17
(Getty)
What a difference a week makes. Coming off a humiliating Week 4 loss at Kansas City in which Bill Belichick benched Tom Brady following a fourth-quarter interception, the Patriots turned the clock back to the Brady/Belichick glory days Sunday night, thrashing the previously unbeaten Bengals before a celebratory — and relieved — crowd at Gillette Stadium.
Click here for the final box score.
The Patriots Scored on Their Opening Drive
There were plenty of cheers and plenty of sighs of relief throughout the stadium — and throughout New England — when the reeling Pats scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
Brady, coming off one of the worst outings of his career, led New England on a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard Steven Ridley touchdown run with 10:06 let in the first quarter.
Ridley celebrated with this dance. It’s not clear exactly what he was doing, but Fansided has an educated guess: Ridley built an imaginary door, then kicked it down.
Tom Brady Hit Tim Wright for a Touchdown & Surpassed the 50,000-Yard Mark
The Patriots have taken plenty of criticism for trading former Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the start of the season for tight end Tim Wright.
But Wright showed what he’s capable of in the first quarter when he caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brady that made it 14-0 with 3:16 left in the quarter.
On the drive, Brady surpassed the 50,000-yard mark, joining Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Drew Brees and John Elway in the exclusive club.
HISTORY! Tom Brady becomes the 6th NFL QB of all time to pass for 50,000 yards. http://t.co/FVUG8qgrF2
How to Watch on TV & Online
(NBCSports.com)
TV: Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya have the call, with the network’s Football Night in America pregame show preceding the kickoff.
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: If you’re based in the United States, you can watch the game online for free via NBC Sports’ Live Extra program. You’ll need the log-in and password for a cable account to access the stream. The stream is not available internationally. The NBC Sports website has a list of frequently asked questions.
HOW TO WATCH ON MOBILE: You can watch the game for free on your iPhone, iPad or Android by downloading the NBC Sports Live Extra app. The app is free and is available in the App Store and the Google Play store.
