Tom Brady finding his form could be bad news for the rest of the NFL.
A few other quarterbacks were at their Sunday best, too.
Brett Favre and Drew Brees helped their teams remain unbeaten. Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, who met in last season’s Super Bowl, each won to put their teams into first-place ties.
Brady threw six touchdown passes – including an NFL-record five in one quarter – and the Patriots sent the Titans plummeting to a new low in their winless season with a 59-0 win on a snowy day in Foxborough.
Brady threw five scoring passes in the second quarter and the Patriots built the biggest halftime lead in league history, 45-0. The six touchdown throws tied Brady’s own Patriots record. And the 59-point victory margin matched the league’s largest since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons by the same score in 1976.
“Every week we’re learning something more about ourselves and what we can do,” Brady said. “There’s no doubt a game like this can give you a lot of confidence.”
ained a club-record 619 yards, with Brady completing 29 of 34 passes for 380 yards and matching the number of scoring passes he totaled in his first five games. In 2007, he set an NFL record with 50 touchdown passes and was the league’s MVP.
Sunday’s performance was, by far, his best of an inconsistent comeback year after a knee injury ended his 2008 season in the opener.
“Back to his old self,” said Wes Welker, who caught 10 passes for a career-high 150 yards and two touchdowns.
It was the worst game in what has become an increasingly terrible season for the Titans (0-6), who have lost their last three by 20, 22 and 59 points after going an NFL-best 13-3 last year.
It was Tennessee’s worst loss since they began play in 1960 as the Houston Oilers, eclipsing a 61-7 setback against Cincinnati in 1989. They won their first 10 games last season.
“I don’t think anybody in this league is 59 points better than us,” tight end Bo Scaife said. “This is the worst it gets.”
Vikings 33, Ravens 31
At Minneapolis, Brett Favre’s 58-yard completion to Sidney Rice set up Ryan Longwell’s fourth field goal, and Baltimore’s Steve Hauschka missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired, allowing Minnesota to remain undefeated.
Favre threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, but the Vikings (6-0) nearly blew this one when they let the Ravens erase a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes to play.
Joe Flacco threw for 385 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens (3-3), who scored twice on drives that totaled just 56 seconds to take a 31-30 lead with 3:37 to play.
But Hauschka pushed his field goal wide left, giving the Ravens their third straight loss.
Saints 48, Giants 27
At New Orleans, Drew Brees ended his two-game streak without a touchdown throw by completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and four scores, and the Saints easily remained unbeaten by torching the Giants’ league-leading defense.
The Giants (5-1) came into the game giving up averages of 210.6 yards and 14.2 points. The Saints (5-0) had 34 points and 315 yards by halftime, as Brees threw three TD passes to reach 100 since the Saints signed him as a free agent in 2006.
Eli Manning was 14 of 31 for 178 yards. He lost his cool at least once, yelling at Ahmad Bradshaw and slapping his shoulder pad after the running back’s lapse in protection precipitated a rushed throw that Jabari Greer intercepted early in the third quarter, stalling a promising drive.
Steelers 27, Browns 14
At Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes before the Steelers’ offense began stopping itself with turnovers, and Pittsburgh (4-2) benefited from a curious first-down measurement to beat the rival Browns (1-5) for the 12th time in a row.
ld easily be the best statistical season of his career, was 23 of 35 for 417 yards in his second career 400-yard game. He threw for 433 during a 31-20 loss to Denver in 2006. Hines Ward made eight catches for 159 yards and a touchdown and Santonio Holmes had five for 104.
The game turned out a lot closer than it was expected to be for much of the second half – the Steelers, two-touchdown favorites, once led only 17-14 – mostly because each team turned it over four times in a sloppily played game in which Pittsburgh outgained Cleveland 543-197.
Cardinals 27, Seahawks 3
At Seattle, Arizona moved into a tie for the NFC West lead as Kurt Warner completed 32 of 41 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns.
Warner tied an NFL record as the fastest to throw for 30,000 yards in a career and Larry Fitzgerald tied his career high with 13 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals (3-2) led 14-0 before Seattle’s offense ran its first play 12 minutes into the first quarter.
Arizona’s swarming defense held Seattle (2-4) to 128 yards and its fewest points in a home game since 2002.
Texans 28, Bengals 17
At Cincinnati, Matt Schaub tied his career high with four TD passes – two to tight end Owen Daniels – and Houston pulled away to deny the Bengals another chance to win one at the end.
ne improbable drive after another. They had one more escape on Sunday – Steve Slaton fumbled with the Texans (3-3) in field-goal range with 6:12 left.
Not that Schaub left them much of a chance. He had his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season, smoothly picking apart a defense that lost its top pass rusher and a starting tackle in the first quarter. Schaub was 28 of 40 for 392 yards, the second-highest total of his career.
Raiders 13, Eagles 9
At Oakland, Calif., Louis Murphy threw two key blocks to spring Zach Miller’s 86-yard touchdown catch, Justin Fargas ran for 87 yards and the Raiders’ defense harassed Donovan McNabb all day.
The result was one of the more shocking ones so far this season as the Raiders (2-4) had lost three straight games by at least 20 points for the first time in franchise history and failed to reach 200 yards of offense the past four, while the Eagles (3-2) were second in the league in points per game.
Defensive coordinator John Marshall kept calling up blitzes in a change of strategy for Oakland and that helped lead to six sacks of McNabb and plenty more pressures.
Packers 26, Lions 0
At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers got sacked five times but still managed to have a big day against Detroit’s defense, throwing for 358 yards with two touchdowns.
okie outside linebacker Clay Matthews III had two sacks as the Packers (3-2) turned in a dominant defensive effort against an undermanned Lions offense.
Detroit (1-5) was without rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson because of injuries – and it showed, as the Lions managed only 79 yards of total offense in the first half. Backup quarterback Daunte Culpepper hurt his hamstring in the third quarter and was replaced by third-stringer Drew Stanton.
Bills 16, Jets 13, OT
At East Rutherford, N.J., Rian Lindell kicked a 47-yard field goal with 2:44 left in overtime, making up for a miss at the end of regulation.
The Bills (2-4) took advantage of Mark Sanchez’s fifth interception of the day to snap a three-game losing streak, and send the sputtering Jets (3-3) to their third straight loss.
Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped in ably for Trent Edwards, who left early in the second quarter with a concussion, helping the Bills overcome Thomas Jones’ Jets franchise-record 210 yards rushing.
Lindell was wide right on a 46-yard attempt into the wind as regulation time expired, sending it to overtime.
Panthers 28, Buccaneers 21
At Tampa, Fla., DeAngelo Williams gained a season-best 152 yards on 30 carries and scored twice, including the winning TD with 29 seconds left. The 1-yard dive capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive that took more than 8 minutes.
s gained 267 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to win their second in row.
Carolina (2-3) squandered a 21-7 lead, giving up a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter and watching Tampa Bay (0-6) tie the game on Tanard Jackson’s 26-yard interception return.
Chiefs 14, Redskins 6
At Landover, Md., Ryan Succop’s four field goals, including the go-ahead 46-yarder with 3:36 to play, plus a last-minute safety were all the Chiefs needed.
They earned rookie coach Todd Haley his first win and Jim Zorn another week of questioning about the future of his job with the Redskins (2-4).
The Chiefs (1-5) had lost 28 of their past 30 and hadn’t won since last November. The win avoided the first 0-6 start in team history.
Jaguars 23, Rams 20, OT
At Jacksonville, Fla., Torry Holt had 101 yards receiving in his first game against his former team, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns for the Jaguars.
Josh Scobee provided the winner, a 36-yard field goal with 8 minutes to play in the extra frame.
St. Louis (0-6) extended the NFL’s longest current losing streak to 16 games. The Rams had two shots at snapping the skid. They took a 17-13 lead with 4:36 remaining on Leonard Little’s 36-yard interception return for a score, but couldn’t stop the Jaguars (3-3) on the ensuing drive.
Falcons 21, Bears 14
scored the go-ahead touchdown on an otherwise forgettable night, powering over from 5 yards with 3:06 remaining, and the defense held at the end to preserve a victory.
Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes for the Falcons (4-1), who matched the best five-game start in franchise history. The Bears (3-2) will surely be moaning about all the mistakes that helped end their three-game winning streak: a fumble at the 1, an interception at the 9 and a crucial penalty when they had fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 5 with less than a minute to go.
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