The Patriots are Dead! Long live the Patriots!

The rumors of the death of the Patriots have been greatly exaggerated. That paraphrase couldn’t be more true to Bostonians after the Pats dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals 38-13, in Cincy (they did not PROTECT THEIR HOUSE; that Under Armour guy would be heated with them), no less.

While this space tends to focus mostly on Touchdown Tommy Brady (and has received heat for so doing), this week, rookie running back Laurence Maroney stole the show, and then some. Maroney rushed for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries, including the 11 yard and 25 yard TD scampers. Oh, and the “starter” and Patriots other stalwart in the offensive backfield, Corey Dillon, rushed 17 times for 67 yards and a touchdown of his own. Corey Dillon, as most Bostonians will remember, was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals for seven seasons, but left Ohio on very bad terms, as the organization simply stopped using him in the ground game and handed the reigns over to (at the time) rookie Rudi Johnson. Altogether, the Patriots running attack included an amazing 236 yard effort.

Oh, and Brady was pretty good, too. While the overall numbers weren’t as large as what the running attack provided, Brady was very good, completing 15 of 26 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns (1 interception). Tom also contributed to the rushing attack, running twice for 21 yards.

The Pats showed no hangover effects from last week’s loss to Denver. The Patriots, on the road in a hostile environment, were able to hold Cincy to 2 field goals on their first two drives, which were looking quite promising until the Pats came up big on third downs. Shayne Graham’s 40 and 45 yard kicks made the score 6-0 at the end of 1, but in the second quarter, New England turned things up a notch.

Maroney started his barrage by scoring on an 11 yard run off left tackle Matt Light, giving the Pats a 7-6 lead with 8:38 remaining in the 1st half. Brady later found Doug Gabriel wide open streaking down the left sideline for a 25 yard hookup, and the Pats lead 14-6 at halftime.

The Bengals weren’t ready to head home yet though, and responded on their 1st drive of the second half by marching 62 yards on 7 plays and capping the possession with a Rudi Johnson 2 yard dive into the end zone making the score 14-13 Pats.

New England immediately responded, and the Laurence Maroney show took center stage as the rookie ran 25 yards up the middle for a score that put the Pats up 21-13. In the 4th quarter, New England added another 17 points, and sent the Bengals fans home early and unhappy, the Pats winning 38-13.

While most of the day was roses, kicker Stephen Gostkowski still looks like a college kicker (see his 45 yard attempt in the 1st half), and it looks like he will not be someone that can be relied on to be money in the bank from 50 yards in. More like 35 and in. Good news is that all of his kickoffs were into the end zone, which is a major contributor to field position.

Defensively, Jarvis Green was a man-child out there, compiling 3 sacks, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble, and 4 tackles. Can you say “AFC Defensive Player of the week”? Ty Warren added a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery, while Tedy Bruschi led the way with 7 total tackles.

Great effort all around by the Pats, and New England welcomes AFC East rival the Miami Dolphins to the Razor next week. Oh, and for those of you not paying attention, the Red Sox and the MLB regular season ended yesterday. Let the off-season blood bath begin.

Photo Courtesy of Boston.com