Brady, Patriots rout Rams 45-7 at Wembley Stadium

LONDON - The Associated Press

New England Patriots’ star quarterback Tom Brady led his team to a comfortable victory at a National Football League match played in London. REUTERS photo

The New England Patriots made sure they can enjoy their transatlantic flight back to the United States after a victorious visit to London.

For the St. Louis Rams, the journey will seem a lot longer - and so will the road to making the playoffs.
The Patriots (5-3) enter their bye week with the best record in the AFC East after blowing out the Rams 45-7 at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28 and finally look to have recovered their ability to put opponents away emphatically after a couple of close losses and a narrow escape against the New York Jets last weekend.

“It’s great to come on a trip like this, put everything into it,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “We’ve got the bye week next week. It’s a good feeling. I’m sure the guys will have fun tonight.”

The Rams (3-5), however, have little reason to celebrate going into their bye week.

After a good start to the season, the Rams have dropped two games in a row against high-powered offenses, also losing to the Green Bay Packers last weekend. This drubbing showed how much they need to improve to compete with the top teams. “It’s embarrassing the way we played tonight,” Rams quarterback Sam Bradford said. “Just embarrassing.”

New England had at least 350 yards of total offense for the 17th straight game, breaking an NFL record set by the Rams in 1999-2000, back when Kurt Warner was leading “The Greatest Show on Turf.”

Brady led four straight touchdown drives for a commanding 28-7 lead by halftime, and then hit Brandon Lloyd for a 9-yard score to start the third quarter. Brady passed for 304 yards with four touchdowns and tight end Rob Gronkowski caught eight passes for 146 yards and two scores.

It was the 50th career game with at least three touchdown passes for Brady. New England became the first team to win two games in London, having beaten Tampa Bay in 2009. The Patriots also had the majority of crowd support from the 84,004 fans at Wembley, despite the Rams being the designated home team.