Records in Sight After Pats Move to 15-0

[December 24, 2007]  FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th win. Tom Brady and Randy Moss edged closer to two more marks. And New England still has one game left to reach an even more amazing goal: the first team to finish a regular season undefeated in 35 years.

Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to Moss, and the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 28-7 on Sunday to improve to 15-0, the best start in league history. The old mark: Miami's 14-0 in 1972 when the season lasted just 14 games.

Today's disjointed Dolphins (1-14) couldn't protect the record of their dominant predecessors.

If the Patriots beat the New York Giants at the Meadowlands next Saturday night, then go unbeaten in the postseason to finish 19-0, they'll join the Dolphins as the only teams to post a perfect record from opening day until the clock in the championship game runs out.

Brady has 48 touchdown passes, one shy of Peyton Manning's NFL record of 49 set in 2004 and tied with Dan Marino's production in 1984.

Moss reached 21 touchdown receptions, one less than Jerry Rice's mark of 22 set in 12 games in 1987, a strike year.

There was more.

The Patriots tied their NFL record of 18 consecutive regular-season wins set in 2003-04. They also broke the league mark of 70 touchdowns in one season by the 1984 Dolphins, reaching 71 before Miami finally scored late in the third quarter on Cleo Lemon's 21-yard pass to Greg Camarillo.

That was meaningless compared with their 67-yard hookup a week earlier that gave Miami a 22-16 overtime win over Baltimore. That touchdown unleashed jubilation in the Dolphin Stadium stands because there was no longer a chance these Dolphins would be the first team to finish 0-16.

Brady finished 18-for-33 and threw two interceptions.

On Sunday, the Patriots were in charge from the start.

They led 28-0 at halftime, scoring on four of their first five possessions. Lawrence Maroney had the Patriots' two longest gains of the season, 59 for a touchdown and 51 yards -- the longest runs of his two NFL seasons -- and Brady threw a 48-yard scoring pass to Jabar Gaffney. Maroney wound with 156 yards on just 14 carries.

Welcome back to the NFL, Tuna.

Bill Parcells, hired as Miami's executive vice president of football operations on Thursday, saw how far the Dolphins were from being competitive. He also saw a Patriots team that's much better than the one he coached to the Super Bowl at the end of the 1996 season -- a loss to Green Bay.

There was a championship feeling in the air even before the game began. Three Red Sox players -- David Ortiz, Curt Schilling and Kevin Youkilis -- along with owner John Henry drew a huge ovation when they paraded onto the field with the trophies from their World Series wins in 2004 and 2007.

Maroney had his second straight season-best output after spending most of the season as an afterthought to Brady's passing. He gained 132 yards on 7 carries one week after picking up 104 on 26 attempts in a 20-10 win over the New York Jets.

His 51-yard run and a pass interference penalty in the end zone set up Brady's 1-yard touchdown pass to Moss, who had scored on an 11-yarder in the first quarter. Five minutes into the second quarter, Maroney was untouched after bursting through a huge hole in the line on his 59-yard touchdown.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD ULMAN]

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