Unbeaten New England Patriots show no mercy in Bills mauling

THE NEW England Patriots are showing no mercy to any opponent, not even the Buffalo Bills, a team for which coach Bill Belichick has publicly expressed affection.

Scoring touchdowns on their first seven offensive possessions and getting the eighth on a turnover, the Patriots won their 10th straight NFL regular season game, routing Buffalo 56-10 on Sunday night.

Tom Brady and Randy Moss, ready to rewrite the NFL record books, led the romp. QB Brady was 31-for-39 for 373 yards with five TD passes, four to Moss, as New England became the 10th team since 1970 to start a season 10-0. The way they played, they appear unbeatable, and barring injury are an excellent bet to become the NFL's first perfect team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

“Can this offense play any better? Of course we can,” said Moss. “With all 11 guys executing, there's no telling what we can do.”

It was the ninth time in 10 games New England won by more than 17 points and the ninth time it scored more than 34 points. The Patriots did it coming off a bye week after their only close game of the season, a 24-20 win in Indianapolis in which they came back from a 10- point deficit with less than 10 minutes left.

They also did it against a Buffalo team that came in 5-4 with four straight wins.

“They are magnificent. They really are,” said Buffalo president Marv Levy, who coached the Jim Kelly-led Bills that went to four Super Bowls between 1990-93 and, at the time, set the standard for offensive excellence.

The 56 points were the most by a road team since 1973. And the 46 points was the worst margin of defeat for Buffalo, three points worse than a loss to Baltimore in 1970.

It came on a night in which Buffalo fans were encouraged by a taped video on the message board before the game from Kevin Everett, the tight end who suffered a severe spinal injury in the opening game.

Meanwhile one of the weirdest plays in NFL history played a huge role in Cleveland's 33-30 overtime victory at Baltimore on Sunday.

Phil Dawson's tying 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation hit an upright, then tapped the centre support behind the crossbar before bouncing back onto the field. Initially called no good, officials held a long discussion, then ruled the kick went through the uprights and called the teams back onto the field.

The Browns took the kickoff in overtime and drove 43 yards in nine plays before Dawson kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Browns (6-4) a wild win.

“I couldn't tell for sure. I could tell by the way it glanced off the upright, it looked like it went forward,” Dawson said of the tying.

“But we had people down near the goal post who were screaming at the top of their lungs that it had hit whatever that bar you call it.”

Eventually, the officials agreed.