FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) With 8 1-2 minutes remaining Sunday, the Gillette Stadium crowd delivered the message loud and clear: ''Brady's Better.''
On this day, Tom Brady and his New England Patriots certainly were the superior team, routing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-21 to grab the best record in the AFC.
Brady outdueled Manning in the 16th installment of the rivalry between the all-time great quarterbacks and is 11-5 against his rival. He threw for four touchdowns and Julian Edelman returned a punt 84 yards for a score.
In his 200th career start, Brady passed for 333 yards. He has won 155 of those, the most for any quarterback in that many starts.
The game wasn't particularly competitive after the first quarter, which Denver completed in front 7-3.
New England (7-2) scored the next 24 points on the way to winning its fifth straight, halting the four-game winning streak for Denver (6-2) in emphatic fashion. Brady has 18 TD passes and one interception in those five victories.
Manning fell to 2-7 at Gillette Stadium even though he threw for 438 yards and two touchdowns. He has at least two TD passes in 14 consecutive games, an NFL record.
The two touchdown passes increased Manning's total to 515. He broke Brett Favre's record of 508 earlier in the season.
Brady connected with Edelman and Shane Vereen on 5-yard scoring passes in the second quarter, with Brandon LaFell from 10 yards and with Rob Gronkowski from the 1 in the second half.
Most of Manning's yardage came well after the Patriots' fourth straight home win over Denver in as many seasons was secured. When it was closer, Denver's high-powered offense had little juice.
Even with the two great quarterbacks in the house, Edelman was a star. Not that New England's defense took a back seat, befuddling Manning so often that the Broncos barely got the snap off on time on several plays.
Edelman's first touchdown was set up by Rob Ninkovich's interception and 11-yard return to the Denver 34.
That TD gave the Patriots a 13-7 lead and Edelman upped it with his sensational, weaving punt return. Catching the ball at his 16, he got a massive block from Tim Wright along the right sideline, then cut back diagonally across the field into the left corner of the end zone.
Edelman tied a team record with his fourth career punt return score. He later had a drop in the end zone - video review was used to overturn the original touchdown call. It hardly mattered because Shane Vereen got wide open for a 5-yard pass from Brady with :08 remaining in the second quarter to make it 27-7.
The rout was on.
Gillette Stadium has become Manning's personal house of horrors. Whether it's the elements - winds whipped around all game, from 19 to 26 mph, although snow had stopped falling well before kickoff - the Patriots' defensive schemes or his teammates' blunders, he's rarely left Foxborough smiling.
Manning did hit Julius Thomas for an 18-yard score early in the third quarter after Danny Amendola tipped Brady's pass into the air and rookie Bradley Roby intercepted. But New England came right back on Stephen Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal into the wind, his third successful kick. He also hit from 49 with the wind and 29 against it.
Nineteen seconds later, Brady hit Brandon LaFell for a 37-14 lead. Manning had been betrayed on the previous play by former Patriots standout Wes Welker - the receiver Edelman replaced as Brady's main target after Welker left for Denver as a free agent in 2013. Welker had Manning's pass bounce off him into the air to Brandon Browner, who scooted 30 yards to the 10.
Manning could only shake his head as he walked to the sideline, while a despondent Welker sat on the ground listening to the crowd's cheers. Welker then left with a back injury.
But Peyton being Peyton, he connected with Ronnie Hillman on a 15-yard pass to give him at least two TD throws in 14 straight games.
Still, Denver's fourth-ranked defense had no answers for the Patriots, who went on a 14-play, 80-yard drive to Gronkowski's 1-yard TD catch. That took up nearly seven minutes and clinched New England having the AFC's best record through nine weeks.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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Who's in and who's out of the early games in Week 9?
This is where good fantasy managers separate from those who just had a fortunate draft. With six teams on bye in Weeks 9 and 10, have you stocked up with enough depth to carry you through this thin time? That's how you'll earn your money in these two weeks. Of course, some teams are even more short-handed due to injuries. In a related matter, keep refreshing this post, starting at about 11:30 a.m. Eastern, as we provide all of the relevant actives and inactives in today's early games. There aren't many true game-time decisions this week, but you can bet we'll bring you the latest.-- In case you missed it, Cowboys QB Tony Romo will not play today and may not play next week either. Brandon Weeden is worth a chance in two-quarterback leagues in a plus matchup versus the Cardinals.-- And he's a strange-scary story: The buses carrying the Redskins to the stadium in Minnesota crashed into each other this morning. It left one bus with a cracked windshield, but all of the players are reportedly fine although a little alarmed. If you're trying to factor this into your lineup decisions today, you're doing way too many mental gymnastics.-- Multiple sources are reporting that Buccaneers rookie RB Charles Sims won't play today versus the Browns. Sims, a very popular pickup this week, was activated yesterday after spending the entire season on injured reserve recovering from ankle surgery. The Bucs want to give him another week to acclimate. That is smart. Bench Sims. With Doug Martin likely out as well, Mike James is expected to back up Bobby Rainey, who should have a large workload in a favorable matchup against the Browns. He's a fine RB2.-- Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is inactive due to an illness. Good news for Nick Foles. Texans linebacker Brian Cushing is also out.-- As expected, Doug Martin is inactive. Bobby Rainey will start for the Bucs and is a very nice RB2 against the Browns' poor run defense.-- Darren Sproles is active for the Eagles after missing last week's game due to a sprained knee. He is a desperation flex option in PPR leagues versus Houston.-- Bengals WR A.J. Green is active and starting. There have been reports that his usage today will depend on game flow, but if this game versus Jacksonville gets out of hand, you have to assume Green will be involved in that blowout somehow. Start him.-- Chargers RB Donald Brown is active for the first time since Week 5 due to a concussion. He'll be a mere breather back behind Branden Oliver, who should see 20-plus touches again.-- Geno Smith is inactive for the Jets. He was already benched last week, so Matt Simms will back up Michael Vick today in Kansas City.-- In that same game, Alex Smith (shoulder) is active. He is a solid bye-week fill-in against a defense that has allowed a league-leading 22 touchdown passes. Tight end Travis Kelce is also active. He is a fine TE1.-- Tight end Jim Dray will start today in place of the concussed Jordan Cameron in Cleveland. No, thanks.-- Jaguars RB Storm Johnson remains a healthy scratch, far behind Denard Robinson.-- Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson suffered a concussion after a scary hit last week, but he is active for today's game versus the Cowboys. His name value has far surpassed his play this season. Dez Bryant owners should be more worried about Weeden than the presence of Peterson. He is still a must-start WR1.-- The have made another lineup change on offense: Percy Harvin will start ahead of Jeremy Kerley today. He is a Hail Mary WR3.-- Redskins RB SIlas Redd is inactive after injuring his back in today's bus crash. No other injuries among the players have been reported. QB Robert Griffin III is obviously active and starting today against the Vikings. He is a boom-or-bust QB1. Players who have already been ruled out for Week 9 include Giovani Bernard, Jordan Cameron, Brian Quick, Stepfan Taylor and Ryan Mathews. For a full rundown of injuries across the league this week, click the source link below to the NFL's official injury report.
-- Bernard is just banged up right now. Shoulder, hip, ribs -- you name it, it's hurting for Gio. The Bengals have sat him down with the hope that an extra few days off will allow him to play Thursday night versus the Browns. For today, big-bodied rookie Jeremy Hill is going to get 15-20 touches and all of the goal-line opportunities versus the Jaguars. He is a rock-solid RB2.-- Speaking of that Bengals-Browns game in Week 10, don't expect to see Cameron active for that one either. He has a concussion and is expected to miss at least two games. Jim Dray and Gary Barnidge will fill in for him, but neither is a fantasy option, even in a plus matchup at home against Tampa Bay.--Quick is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder earlier this week. Now the targets and receptions that were going to the Rams' leading receiver will be spread out to Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin and Jared Cook. Austin's big-play skills make him an interesting guy to keep tabs on if the Rams can finally make him a consistent factor in the offense. We're waiting, Brian Schottenheimer.-- Taylor will miss 2-4 weeks due to a strained calf. Marion Grice will now operate as the Cardinals' No. 2 RB, but maybe this injury will lead to a few more goal-line carries for Andre Ellington.-- Mathews is still not ready to come back from his sprained knee, but he did practice Friday for the first time since Week 2. He should be healthy after the Chargers' Week 10 bye, and it will be interesting to see how this backfield will shake out once he returns, especially with Branden Oliver showing that he can definitely play at this level. Donald Brown is expected to play for San Diego today for the first time since Week 5 due to a concussion. He's not a threat to Oliver's starting gig. He'll just replace Ronnie Brown as the change-of-pace runner.
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