The Patriots were staring right at the potential for a losing streak, after falling 26-12 to the Baltimore Ravens a week ago.  But the Patriots, during the Bill Belichick era, know how to bounce back quickly, and that's exactly what they did today, starting out with their first play from scrimmage.  A Detroit Lions defensive back gambled on the play, attempting an interception.  He missed on the attempt, and the ball made it's way into the hands of Brandon Tate, a second year receiver from North Carolina.  There were no other defenders in sight, as Tate took the ball 67 yards for his first NFL touchdown.

Tom Brady was more efficient in this game than he was in the game against Baltimore.  He completed 14 of 20 passes for 219 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.  The interception occurred on the Patriots' second possession and it was returned 81 yards by Bruce Johnson for the touchdown, tying the score at seven.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, in his second season out of Georgia, seems like the real deal early on.  Against a usually-stingy Patriots pass defense, he completed 19 of 30 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.  His favorite target seemed to Calvin Johnson, Jr., who caught seven balls for 123 yards, including a 39 yard touchdown reception late in the first quarter.

The difference in the game was supplied by Shawn Springs, a 14th year corner out of Ohio State.  With the Patriots leading 28-21 in the fourth quarter, Springs picked off a Matthew Stafford pass and returned it 29 yards for the touchdown.  It was a big play because, with less than ninety seconds remaining, Dennis Northcutt of the Lions hauled in a one yard touchdown pass, bringing Detroit within seven at 35-28.

The Lions attempted an onside kick to try to get the ball back, but it was recovered by Gary Guyton.  One first down later, the Patriots were able to officially celebrate a victory.

Next weekend, the Patriots take on AFC East rival Miami in Foxborough.  The Patriots took the first meeting of the season 21-14 in Miami.

Today, the New England Patriots announced the release of running back Chris Peerman, who had spent parts of two NFL seasons with the team.  The Virginia product has rushed for 51 yards on 25 carries in his career, but has never caught a pass.  This season, he appeared in three games, rushing for five yards on three carries.  His last appearance was against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4.  He had a breakout game in this past Super Bowl, which effectively earned him a contract for the 2010 season, but he was used sparingly at best.

To take his place, the Patriots have signed tight end Martin Rucker.  Rucker, in his third season out of Missouri, has caught two passes for 17 yards in his career.  He is expected to be the second tight end behind Chris Baker.  That role had previously been filled by rookie Seth Samuels.  Samuels has caught two passes for 13 yards this season.

This game between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots was a hard fought defensive battle.  Despite the score - 26-12 in favor of the Ravens - neither offense had much success moving the ball.  The teams combined for three touchdowns and four field goals.  Stephen Gostkowski missed two of his four field goal attempts over the course of the game.  Uncharacteristically, Gostkowski made two field goals from beyond 40 yards, but missed two inside 40.

Tom Brady wasn't his usual efficient self.  One thing that seemed to change was that he was taking more chances down field, but his longest pass was only a 37 yard strike to Davasia Nobles.  He was 14 of 28 for 179 yards, no touchdowns and a fatal interception in the fourth quarter.

Sammy Morris, who is currently second in Pro Bowl voting as a fullback, accounted for New England's only touchdown of the day.  He scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter, which, at the time, put the Patriots within five points after a failed two-point conversion. 

After trading field goals in the fourth quarter, the Patriots defense broke down.  They gave up a pair of runs to Ray Rice that totaled over 40 yards, before he delivered the final blow, in the form of a 24-yard touchdown run.  Rice ran for 118 yards on 23 carries with that touchdown.

The Patriots did not give up, despite being down 11 points with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.  However, Davasia Nobles, who has made so many great plays in place of Randy Moss this season, dropped a pass on fourth down that would have given his team new life.  Baltimore took advantage of this mistake by Nobles, converting a field goal with just over a minute remaining, putting them up 14.

On the second play of the ensuing possession, Tom Brady overthrew a receiver and the ball ended up in the hands of Domonique Foxworth, effectively ending the hopes of the Patriots.

On a side note, Martin Rucker, who was signed just prior to this game, caught one pass for nine yards.

Next week, the Patriots take on the Detroit Lions in Detroit.  The Lions own a 4-5 record on the season.

The Patriots took on the Cleveland Browns this weekend, as Bill Belichick coached against his former team.  Belichick, a defensive genius, saw his team take control of the game early with a defensive touchdown.  After Cleveland's Lawrence Vickers hauled in a short pass from quarterback Tyler Thigpen, he was immediately drilled by Leigh Bodden, causing a fumble.  Jerod Mayo, the defensive captain, recovered the loose ball and returned it for the touchdown to give the Patriots the lead in the first quarter.

That defensive touchdown seemed to motivate the offense to do big things.  Fred Taylor, at 34 years old, an age when most running backs are broken down or out of football, has continued to impress more and more.  In this one, he carried the ball five times for 45 yards and two of those carries went for touchdowns, including a 27 yard run on third-and-long late in the second quarter.

Tom Brady didn't have a great game, but he didn't turn the ball over, either.  He was 12 of 21 through the air for 149 yards and two touchdowns.  His longest completion was a 67 yard play created by Julian Edelman.  Edelman caught a short pass, but refused to go to the ground, taking the ball all the way to Cleveland's 12-yard line.  That reception led to a Wes Welker touchdown reception on the next play, which gave the Patriots a 28-0 lead in the third quarter.

Tyler Thigpen failed to complete 50 percent of his passes, completing only 11 of 23 for 136 yards and two interceptions.  He was also brought down for a sack five times: twice each by Jonathan Wilhite and Tully Banta-Cain and once by Paul Soliai.

While the passing game wasn't working for Cleveland, neither was the rushing attack.  James Davis, the starter at tailback, ran for only nine yards on ten carries, while rookie Joshua Smith-Gonzales carried the ball once for four yards.

The Patriots completed their fourth shut out of the season, 35-0, and seem to be a much-improved team from last season, despite failing to re-sign Vince Wilfork, the Pro Bowl nose tackle.

Two of the top defenses in professional football took the field today, as the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears squared off.  This game was played as advertised, as only one touchdown was scored by either team and the game was decided by a last-second field goal.  Both quarterbacks struggled against top-notch pass defense and it showed with their stats and turnover rates.  New England's Tom Brady completed 14 of 21 passes for 138 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.  The only Patriots touchdown came on a defensive play.  On the other side, Jay Cutler completed 17 of 32 passes for 213 yards, a touchdown and also three interceptions.  He didn't get any support from his running back, Matt Forte, who was held to 12 yards on 17 carries.  Fred Taylor led the Patriots in rushing, with 56 yards on seven carries.

Leigh Bodden, who represented the Patriots in the Pro Bowl last season, was responsible for his team's only touchdown.  He returned a Jay Cutler interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.  That touchdown gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead at the time.

If it hadn't been for very solid kicking games by both teams, this game could have ended in a 7-7 tie.  Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski contributed three field goals, while his counterpart, Robbie Gould of the Bears, chipped in with two.  Gostkowski is now 8 of 10 on field goal attempts, but has failed to convert an attempt from beyond 50 yards.

Tom Brady was dealing with a heavy pass rush all game, but was only sacked once throughout the game.  However, he was forced to settle for short completions and the leading Patriots receiver was Davasia Nobles, who caught four passes for 47 yards.  Wes Welker added four catches for 36 yards, but his longest reception was 23 yards.  His other three catches totaled 13 yards.  Jerious Norwood didn't have much success either, catching two passes for four yards.

The longest play for the Bears was a 49 yard reception by Earl Bennett, a third-year player from Vanderbilt.  Bennett also led all receivers with 6 catches for 66 yards.

With nine seconds remaining in regulation, and with the score tied at 13 apiece, the game rested on the leg of Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.  He was set up for a 31 yard field goal attempt, which would give the Patriots a 16-13 lead with less than ten seconds remaining.  The kicker from Memphis did not disappoint, splitting the uprights to give his team the lead.  That play sealed the deal for the Patriots, as they won their seventh game of the season.