Patriots Live Blog: Pats Improve To 8-0 With 27-10 Win Over Washington
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Final, 27-10 Patriots: That's all she wrote. Washington kicked deep, Jimmy G took a knee, and this one's over. The Patriots are 8-0.
Fourth quarter, :25, 27-10 Patriots: The Redskins scored a touchdown. It doesn't really matter.
Cousins hit Jordan Reed for the 3-yard score, and the Redskins can ... I guess ... feel good about that one? Maybe?
Fourth quarter, :46, 27-3 Patriots: This is not what New England wanted. Duron Harmon is down on the turf, getting attention from the medical staff. With the game out of hand, the Patriots were obviously hoping to just get through this final drive unscathed. But Harmon got banged up there, when Chris Thompson came down with a catch at the 6-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 2:00, 27-3 Patriots: The Pats are giving the Redskins the entire middle of the field, and Washington's taking what's there. They've driven to the New England 39-yard line before the two-minute warning. Not much is on the line here, except pride and some fantasy points.
Fourth quarter, 3:51, 27-3 Patriots: Operation Kill Some Clock was a success for New England, as the Patriots drove to the Washington 33-yard line before coming up short on third down. Ryan Allen punted out of bounds at the 17-yard line, and the fans are filing to the exits in droves.
Fourth quarter, 9:15, 27-3 Patriots: Another Washington drive, another Washington drop, another Washington punt.
The Redskins' offense is just brutal. They've gained 170 yards total on the day, and they just had to punt after a Chris Thompson drop on second down and a two-yard completion on third-and-10.
The Patriots take over at their own 17-yard line after a holding penalty on the punt return. They'll be trying to drain some clock here and try to get this game over with.
Fourth quarter, 11:28, 27-3 Patriots: For the first time since late in the first quarter, the Patriots made their way into the end zone.
It came on an absolutely perfect pass from Brady to Brandon Bolden, of all people. Suffice it to say, that duo hasn't gotten many game reps on that play, but they sure looked like they practice it quite often, as Bolden caught the pass in stride over his left shoulder for an 18-yard touchdown reception.
It capped off a long drive -- 88 yards on 14 plays for 7:42 -- and it officially puts this one out of reach for the Redskins, who have had almost no offense to speak of all day.
End of third quarter, 20-3 Patriots: It'll be third-and-8 for the Patriots to start the fourth quarter. LeGarrette Blount has gone over 100 yards for the day on this drive, as he has 33 yards on five carries. The malaise kind of continues here. It's not that anyone's worried about the Patriots blowing this lead so much as this game has just kind of taken on the feel of a midseason practice.
Third quarter, 4:10, 20-3 Patriots: That was quick. Three plays, three yards, punt.
Cousins threw to nobody on second down and threw about 10 yards short of Garcon on third down. It was quite the uninspiring drive, to say the least.
The Patriots provided an update on Dion Lewis. He has a knee injury and he won't return.
Third quarter, 5:06, 20-3 Patriots: Washington lost the challenge, costing them a timeout, but Brady threw incomplete when rushed on third down.
Ryan Allen punted, and the Redskins take over at their own 30.
Going to be honest with you here ... there is not much excitement in this building. Everybody is kind of acting as if they're watching the Redskins play the Patriots. That is to say ... they might be a little bored. Something needs to happen to wake up the crowd.
Dont'a Hightower is back on the field for the Patriots.
Third quarter, 5:20, 20-3 Patriots: This is not good. Dion Lewis is down.
The running back had just gained 14 yards on a screen pass before going down and grabbing at his lower left leg. He remained down on the field for a minute before popping up and walking off under his own power, but that's certainly a great concern for the Patriots. Lewis has been absolutely dynamic out of the backfield this year.
He had been on the injury report in recent weeks with an abdomen injury, but he reached down at either his knee of calf on that play. I'll provide an update whenever it's available. He just headed to the locker room with the training staff.
In game news, Lewis fumbled on the play but was ruled to have been down by contact. Washington is challenging the play, saying that Lewis fumbled before he went down.
Third quarter, 6:05, 20-3 Patriots: The Patriots played that series without Dont'a Hightower -- no word on why just yet -- but they were able to force a three-and-out, thanks to a ghastly drop by Jamison Crowder and a false start penalty on Morgan Morris.
Patriots haven't scored a touchdown since 11:30 into the first quarter. They need to be a bit sharper here.
Third quarter, 7:32, 20-3 Patriots: The Pats once again drove to the goal line but came up short and had to settle for a field goal.
Blount ran five times for 17 yards, but was stuffed by an unblocked Stephen Paea behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line for a 2-yard loss. Blount actually fumbled on the play but recovered it himself.
It likely won't matter on the scoreboard today, but failure to capitalize on those red zone trips is something that will no doubt be a point of contention for Bill Belichick in the film room this week.
Bryan Stork, by the way, played right tackle on that drive. He wasn't bad, especially considering he's a center playing in his first game of the season.
Third quarter, 12:10, 17-3 Patriots: The Redskins appeared to be in business, after Cousins hit Garcon on a picture-perfect 36-yard deep ball. But on third-and-2 a few plays later, Alan Branch stripped the ball from running back Matt Jones, and Rob Ninkovich recovered.
First-and-10 Patriots at their own 43.
Third quarter, 14:56, 17-3 Patriots: Rashad Ross bobbled Stephen Gostkowski's kick and returned it to the 13-yard line, and the second half is underway.
The Pats' D, ideally, would get the ball right back here so the game can be put out of reach. The Redskins will be trying to score, ideally for them in fewer than eight minutes.
Halftime, 17-3 Patriots: The Redskins are on the board.
After gaining just 8 yards, Jay Gruden elected to kick a field goal from the 5-yard line. The kick was good, and the Skins head to the half at least with some points.
That was a 16-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:43 off the clock. There were no big plays, and I think the Patriots' defense will be happy to let Washington run nearly eight minutes off the clock if they so choose. At that rate, the Patriots will only need about one more score to secure a victory.
After the touchdown, Amendola took a touchback, Tom Brady took a knee, and the Patriots headed to the locker room up by two scores.
In the injury department, the Vollmer injury could force Michael Williams into tackle duty. He played O line with Detroit, remember, before coming to New England and making the switch to tight end. So it's not entirely foreign to him, but it's also not an ideal situation for the Patriots.
Second quarter, :26, 17-0 Patriots: The Redskins are driving, but center Josh LeRibeus just hurt his face and/or head, after his helmet popped off in the middle of the play. He was down on the field with blood on his face, which led to a stoppage in play.
It'll be third-and-goal from the 13-yard line for the Redskins, who are putting together their best drive of the half.
In other injury news, Sebastian Vollmer suffered a head injury and is questionable to return. Considering the Patriots don't have many tackles ... that could be an issue.
Second quarter, 7:59, 17-0 Patriots: The fans wanted a touchdown, but they had to settle for a field goal, after Dion Lewis came up three yards shy of the goal line on third-and-goal.
The offense drove 61 yards on 10 plays there, with LeGarrette Blount doing most of the heavy lifting. He picked up 38 rushing yards on six carries, helping the Patriots get into the red zone. But they stalled out, with an incompletion to Gronkowski in the end zone on second-and-goal and a short pass to Lewis gaining just eight yards on third-and-goal from the 11.
Gostkowski hit the chip shot, and it's a three-score game.
Second quarter, 13:05, 14-0 Patriots: Chandler Jones just came up with a sack on third-and-7, just burning right past right tackle Morgan Moses and chasing down Cousins from behind. It looked like Moses got a late start to that play, and when you're a half-step behind Jones, you've already lost.
The Redskins decided to go for it on fourth-and-11 from the 36-yard line. Cousins threw to Garcon ... who dropped it.
First down, Patriots.
End of first quarter, 14-0 Patriots: The first quarter comes to an end after Pierre Garcon makes a 9-yard catch over the middle on a third-and-8. It'll be first-and-10 for Washington at the Patriots' 35-yard line to start the second.
First quarter, 1:07, 14-0 Patriots: After hitting a wide open Brandon LaFell on a 48-yard deep ball, Tom Brady was picked off by linebacker Keenan Robinson.
Robinson simply read the play well and stepped right in front of Julian Edelman. Robinson returned it all the way back to the New England 46-yard line, with Brady making the tackle to save a touchdown.
First quarter, 3:27, 14-0 Patriots: The Redskins are getting rocked, and Kirk Cousins' receivers aren't helping him.
Cousins floated a pretty nice deep ball to a wide open Derek Carrier on second down, but Carrier let it clank right off his chest.
On third down, Jordan Reed dropped a pass, but his out route was well short of the sticks.
So the Redskins punted, and the Patriots take over at their own 32-yard line.
First quarter, 4:30, 14-0 Patriots: The game's only 10 and a half minutes old, but it's already looking like a severe beatdown.
The Patriots just drove 28 yards in six plays, capped off with a LeGarrette Blount run right up the gut. Blount scored standing up ... despite 12 Redskins being on the field.
Danny Amendola had an 11-yard reception on that drive, and LaFell had a 7-yard catch-and-run on a quick pass out to the left.
The Patriots have gained 133 yards and scored 14 points. The Redskins have zero yards and zero points.
First quarter, 6:29, 7-0 Patriots: No harm, no foul.
Kirk Cousins' first pass of the game bounced right off Pierre Garcon's chest and into the air. Logan Ryan swooped in to intercept the pass, and the Pats take over at the Washington 28-yard line.
Nobody was happier about that than Julian Edelman.
First quarter, 6:38, 7-0 Patriots: New England looked to be in business, with Julian Edelman making a catch and crossing the 30 to move the chains. But Will Blackmon ripped the ball loose from the receiver's grasp, and Blackmon recovered at the Washington 26-yard line. So much for that onside kick.
First quarter, 8:58, 7-0 Patriots: How about that? Gostkowski just kicked a surprise onside kick, and the Patriots recovered! Nobody saw that coming. Certainly not the Redskins' kick return team.
First quarter, 9:01, 7-0 Patriots: Tom Brady and the offense just made short work of the Washington defense, in the form of a 13-play, 84-yard drive.
Only two plays on that drive failed to gain yards. One was a deep incompletion to Julian Edelman, and the other was a drop in the end zone by Dion Lewis.
Lewis ran for 25 yards on three carries, and Brady spread the ball around to four receivers, going 6-for-8 for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Julian Edelman was the star, coming up with a catch on a fourth-and-2 to move the chains, absorbing a shot to the head while hanging on to a first-down catch on third-and-5, and then juuuuuuking Will Blackmon out of his jock to get into the end zone with an eight-yard touchdown reception.
That really looked like the varsity going against the JV.
First quarter, 14:56, 0-0: Danny Amendola brought the opening kick out to the 16-yard line, and this one's underway.
1:02 p.m.: Stop the presses -- the Patriots have lost the coin toss!
Washington called heads and won, and they will defer. That means the Patriots will start with the ball here in about a minute.
12:53 p.m.: With "Carmina Burana" blaring over the speakers, the Patriots took the field here at Gillette. The coin toss is just moments away.
11:32 a.m.: The inactive lists are out, and the Pats will be without their most dynamic defender today.
Jamie Collins was a late addition to the injury report on Saturday with an illness, and that's going to keep him out of today's game. Granted, the Redskins offense isn't exactly the most dangerous unit in the land, but losing Collins no doubt will make things tougher for the Pats' D.
In terms of noteworthy players not on the list, Shaq Mason is apparently healthy enough to play. That's much needed on the thin O-line.
For the Redskins, DeAngelo Hall's name stands out. He was a possibility to return from a nagging toe injury, but he's apparently not ready to go.
Here are both teams' inactive lists:
Patriots
Tre Jackson, OL
Jabaal Sheard, DE
Keshawn Martin, WR
Marcus Cannon, T
Jamie Collins, LB
James White, RB
Trey Flowers, DL
Redskins
Robert Griffin III, QB
Rashad Ross, WR
DeAngelo Hall, CB
Frank Kearse, DE
Kory Lichtensteiger, C
Anthony McCoy, TE
Terrance Knighton, DT
10 a.m.: It is a wonderful fall day in New England, and it may be the last afternoon of nice weather for the local football team.
Fortunately, it won't go to waste, as the Patriots are set to suit up against the Redskins in just a few hours here at Gillette Stadium.
As I wrote in my game preview, these two teams are in vastly different spots right now. The Patriots are on a 16-0 train, possibly, as they've been decimating every opponent that's gotten in their way. The Redskins, meanwhile, are 3-4 but are nevertheless alive in the NFC East race. While the Redskins probably won't make it through this season with a winning record, they'll no doubt be bringing everything they have today.
Another item I spotlighted in the preview was Kirk Cousins' struggles on the road. He's been flat-out terrible on the road in his career, owning a 1-8 record with 13 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and a 73.0 rating. (At home, he's 6-6 with 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and an 88.6 rating.)
In terms of doubts on the Patriots' side, the offensive line is certainly looking a bit shaky. Tre' Jackson and Marcus Cannon are both out, and Ryan Wendell was placed on IR yesterday. We'll see if Shaq Mason is on the inactive list too. Bryan Stork was activated off IR, so it wouldn't be surprising to be asked to play an entire game at guard for the first time in his NFL career in his first game of the year. The Patriots and Tom Brady have made it work with a sketchy offensive line multiple times this year, but they're certainly playing with fire the longer they go with so few active linemen.
I'll have updates on that inactive list when it's released, and I'll have updates and analysis from the start of the game until the final whistle. Check back often.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.