FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -After beating the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s hyped matchup of unbeaten teams, the New England Patriots are shifting their focus to the opposite kind of opponent- the winless Dolphins.
But coach Bill Belichick said motivation won’t be an issue.
“The last time we went down there, we got shut out,” Belichick said of last season’s 21-0 loss in Miami. “So I hope we can do better than that this time. It will be a big challenge for us … I don’t think we’ll have any problem getting ready for that.”
The Dolphins (0-6) traditionally have given the Patriots fits in Miami, winning five of seven since Belichick became New England’s coach in 2000.
In last season’s shutout, Tom Brady threw for only 78 yards and was sacked four times.
That, however, was when Randy Moss was in Oakland, Donte’ Stallworth was in Philadelphia and Wes Welker was playing for the Dolphins.
All three receivers are Patriots this season and have contributed to New England’s sizzling start.
Welker set career highs in catches (11) and receiving yards (124) in Sunday’s 48-27 win over the Cowboys. Stallworth added seven catches for 136 yards, and Moss had six receptions for 59 yards.
Brady threw a career-high five touchdown passes – two to Welker and one each to Stallworth, Moss and tight end Kyle Brady.
The quarterback has 21 touchdown passes through six games. His career high is 28. The franchise record is 31, set by Vito “Babe” Parilli in 1964. At this rate, Brady could shatter that mark and challenge Peyton Manning’s NFL record of 49 set in 2004.
Brady, however, did not want to be drawn into discussing that prospect.
“I don’t set my goals like that,” Brady said of Manning’s mark. “That’s not what our team is all about.”
Brady was particularly effective on third down against the Cowboys, completing 11 of 13 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots converted 11 of 17 third downs overall, one week after a 2-of-12 performance against the Browns.
The victory – the Patriots’ first at Texas Stadium in five tries – came despite having both tight end Benjamin Watson (ankle) and running back Sammy Morris (chest) leave the game with injuries. Belichick had no updates on either player’s condition Monday.
Morris, a former Dolphin, made his third straight start in place of Laurence Maroney, who is out with a groin injury.
With third down running back Kevin Faulk getting the bulk of the carries, the Patriots rushed for a season-low 75 yards. Brady compensated by throwing for 388 yards, his career high in a non-overtime game.
“I’ve always had a saying: Peyton Manning has his receivers, why can’t Tom have his?” Moss said. “Now that Tom has his, we’ll see (what happens).”
The Patriots hit what Belichick called a “lull” midway through the game. The Cowboys erased a 21-10 deficit by scoring touchdowns on consecutive drives bridging the second and third quarters.
Belichick chalked it up to “a combination of bad coaching, bad playing and bad tackling.”
The Patriots, however, responded well, outscoring the Cowboys 27-3 the rest of the way. New England scored its most points since beating Indianapolis 50-17 on Nov. 18, 1984.
“There are a lot of things we can learn from this game,” Belichick said. “Dallas is tough. They’re physical. They gave us a lot of problems. I think we gave them some.”
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