Short-handed but sure-handed, the New England Patriots grabbed
another win.
Kevin Faulk grasped a 15-yard touchdown pass just inbounds with 3:13 left—
holding onto the ball despite being hit by St. Louis linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa
— and the Patriots had their go-ahead touchdown with 3:13 left
Deltha O’Neal pulled in another ball on a juggling interception with 1:08
remaining and the Patriots rallied for a 23-16 win Sunday.
Inconsistent most of the day without three sidelined running backs, the Patriots
(5-2) held on when it mattered most, winning a tight game six days after routing
Denver 41-7. The Rams (2-5) played without injured runner Steven Jackson and
lost for the first time since Jim Haslett succeeded the fired Scott Linehan
after an 0-4 start.
“We’re behind in the fourth quarter and it was up to us to come back in the face
of a little adversity,” quarterback Matt Cassel said. “There’s going to be, I’m
sure, a lot of (tight games) down the road.”...more
Scoring Summary
STL - NE
1st Quarter
8:49
STL
FG
Josh Brown kicked a 20-yard field goal
3 - 0
1:43
NE
TD
BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed to the right for 2 yard
gain (Stephen Gostkowski made PAT)
3 - 7
2nd Quarter
14:14
STL
TD
Marc Bulger passed to Donnie Avery to the left for 69
yard gain (Josh Brown made PAT)
10 - 7
1:49
NE
FG
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 30-yard field goal
10 - 10
0:00
NE
FG
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 27-yard field goal
10 - 13
3rd Quarter
8:03
STL
FG
Josh Brown kicked a 44-yard field goal
13 - 13
4th Quarter
12:25
STL
FG
Josh Brown kicked a 25-yard field goal
16 - 13
8:22
NE
FG
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 41-yard field goal
16 - 16
3:13
NE
TD
Matt Cassel passed to Kevin Faulk to the left for 15
yard gain (Stephen Gostkowski made PAT)
16 - 23
Team Statistics
STL
NE
First Downs
15
23
Passing
10
15
Rushing
5
8
Penalty
0
0
Third Down Efficiency
5-16
6-12
Fourth Down Efficiency
1-1
0-1
TOTAL NET YARDS
358
348
Total Plays
64
65
Average Gain Per Play
5.6
5.4
NET YARDS RUSHING
90
98
Rushes
26
29
Average Per Rush
3.5
3.4
NET YARDS PASSING
268
250
Completions-Attempts
18-34
21-33
Yards Per Pass Play
7.1
6.9
Times Sacked
4
3
Yards Lost to Sacks
33
17
Had Intercepted
1
2
PUNTS
6
3
Average Punt
40.8
49.7
PENALTIES
9
0
Penalty Yards
63
0
FUMBLES
1
0
Fumbles Lost
0
0
TIME OF POSSESSION
29:25
30:35
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
New Page 1
Preview:
Though injuries to their key players keep mounting, the New
England Patriots have shown they're still capable of a dominating performance.
Dominating the St. Louis Rams, though, no longer appears to be a sure thing. The
Patriots seek to follow up a convincing victory Sunday when they host the
revitalized Rams, who look for their third consecutive upset under new coach Jim
Haslett. New England (4-2) had been struggling on offense ever since losing Tom
Brady to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of its opener, scoring
fewer than 20 points in four of its first five games...more
Pick:
It's impressive that the Rams have won two in a row
under new head coach Jim Haslett, but they won't likely surprise the scrappy
Pats in this one Patriots 30 - Rams 20
Notable:
This is a sandwich game
for Pats, between Monday obliteration of Denver and next week's visit to
rival Indy, however they shouldn't look past the hot Rams.
Matt Cassel is not expected to have much
success with the long downfield pass, but he can move the ball with
short passes
24.3
10.8