Brady, Patriots get historic 59-0 win over Titans
Associated Press
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Record-setting Tom Brady threw six touchdown passes and the New England Patriots sent the hapless Tennessee Titans plummeting to a new low in their winless season with a 59-0 win on a snowy Sunday.
Five of those passes came in the second quarter, an NFL mark for one period. The six touchdown throws tied Brady's own Patriots record. And the 59-point margin matched the largest since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Los Angeles Rams' 59-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in 1976.
The Patriots (4-2) gained a club-record 619 yards with Brady completing 29 of 34 passes for 380 yards.
The Titans (0-6) took their worst loss since they began play in 1960 as the Houston Oilers, eclipsing the 61-7 setback to Cincinnati in 1989. They won their first 10 games last season.
The white-and-powder-blue throwback uniforms the Titans wore to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the AFL may have been the only resemblance to that team that won that league's inaugural championship.
The Titans couldn't even stop New England when Brian Hoyer, a free agent rookie from Michigan State, took over for Brady on the second series of the third quarter with the score 52-0. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 52 yards in his pro debut and scored on a 1-yard run on his first series.
By that time, the wide empty spaces in the snow-covered stands matched the huge gaps in the Titans' defense that played without injured starting cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. Rookies started in their spots.