Patriots’ perfect start helps shut ‘Gate’

There had been a real possibility that Tom Brady would serve a four-game suspension to open this season in the fallout from “Deflate-gate.”

That’s what Commissioner Roger Goodell wanted and it would have let the Dallas Cowboys avoid facing Brady this week. However, the courts overturned that suspension and Brady was declared eligible a week before the season began.

And now Brady and the Patriots are playing like it’s 2007. Yes, they are a team on a mission just like they were after the “Spygate” controversy.

That 2007 team went 16-0 during the regular season, including a 48-27 Week 6 victory over the Cowboys at Texas Stadium, before falling in the Super Bowl. This year’s team seems to be committed to running the table again, and making the Cowboys another victim along the way.

Brady is playing as though he wants to neutralize Deflate-gate theorists who overlook his long, impressive championship pedigree.

The Patriots are unbeaten with a franchise record 119 points through three games. They didn’t let their foot off the gas in a 51-17 thrashing of Jacksonville in the game before their bye week.

They opened the season with a 28-21 victory over Pittsburgh, and followed with a 40-32 win at Buffalo, a game that was 37-13 in the fourth quarter.

Brady is averaging more than 370 passing yards a game, completing 72.2 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. He has a 119.6 passer rating, and was a no-brainer pick for AFC player of the month honors for September.

Brady has plenty of weapons. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is the best at his position, and has a team-leading 308 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Receiver Julian Edelman averages 10 catches a game.

“Obviously, it’s good to be 3-0,” Brady told reporters last week. “I think before we really get to know what we’re all about, what the other teams are all about, it’s good to win the games however you can win them.

“That’s what you’ve got to be able to do this time of year. But we’ve got a long road ahead, and I think everyone’s got to be tuned into what we’re trying to do in order to accomplish what our goals are.”

Tough after bye

It’s no secret that Bill Belichick ranks among the top coaches in the game, arguably the best going today.

So it should come as no surprise that Belichick has an impressive record following a bye week. Give him extra time to prepare and scout, Belichick is going to make the most of it.

The Patriots are 11-4 in games following the bye week during Belichick’s tenure, including 6-2 on the road.

Briefly

▪ Patriots running back Dion Lewis is a versatile threat out of the backfield as a receiver and rusher. He has 325 total yards with two touchdowns.

▪ New England’s run defense limited Jacksonville to 57 yards. The first two weeks were a different story, as the Patriots gave up 134 rushing yards to Pittsburgh and 160 rushing yards to Buffalo.

▪ This will be the Patriots’ first game at AT&T Stadium. Said Brady, on sports radio WEEI, “I’ve never been down to that stadium. Obviously, we don’t have much of a history with the Cowboys, so it will be a fun game regardless.”

Telling number

368.7 Yards allowed per game allowed by the Patriots’ defense, 20th in the league

He said it

“Football takes a toll. We have guys that are out, they have guys that are out. Obviously, they have some of their very best, best players out, which is a bummer.” — Brady on WEEI, referring to the Cowboys missing Pro Bowl players such as Tony Romo and Dez Bryant

“It’s nice to be 3-0, but big deal. Three wins isn’t going to get anything in this league, I’ll tell you that. It will probably just get a lot of coaches fired. … It’s not a big deal. We have a lot of work to do. We have a long way to go.” — Belichick

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Patriots’ perfect start helps shut ‘Gate’."