Brady Gets Fresh Start, Leading Patriots to Win

Tom Brady shrugged off those four interceptions and got started on a new streak.

Brady, starting again in place of the injured Drew Bledsoe, threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots past the Atlanta Falcons, 24-10, on Sunday.

Brady hardly resembled the quarterback who was picked off four times in the fourth quarter last week, leading to a 31-20 loss at Denver.

Until that miserable quarter, he set an NFL record by throwing 162 passes to begin his career without an interception.

“We knew he’d come back this week and play tough,” said Troy Brown, who caught one of the touchdowns. “It was huge for him to come back and play so well.”

Brady certainly took advantage of the most generous pass defense in the NFL, completing 21 of 31 attempts--with no interceptions.

“You can’t get last week back,” he said. “But I felt great getting back out there.”

Defensively, the Patriots (4-4) coped with the loss of linebacker Bryan Cox by blitzing on nearly every play. The Falcons (3-4) never adjusted, giving up nine sacks and losing quarterback Chris Chandler to a rib injury.

Chandler was sacked six times through the first three quarters, finally wobbling to the locker room with sore ribs. X-rays showed nothing was broken, but it was unclear whether he would play next Sunday.

Chandler’s replacement, No. 1 draft pick Michael Vick, spent most of the period picking himself up off the turf, with defenders breaking through so quickly he rarely had time to show off his speed.

New England took down Vick three times, winding up one short of the team record. “Man, they were coming,” Vick said. “I don’t know what happened.... I know it really got ugly out there.”