FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady's milestone touchdown pass highlighted the New England Patriots' 51-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Brady threw his 400th career regular-season touchdown pass, becoming only the fourth player in NFL history to reach that milestone. It came late in the second quarter on a 1-yard toss to receiver Danny Amendola. The Gillette Stadium crowd chanted "Brady! Brady! Brady!" shortly thereafter.
What it means: The Patriots improve to 3-0 and have started the season with an offensive blitz -- 28 points against the Steelers, 40 against the Bills and now 51 against the Jaguars. The Pats' 35 first downs against the Jaguars tied a franchise record, which was last accomplished Oct. 7, 2012, vs. Denver. The Patriots have the bye in Week 4 and can only hope it doesn't stunt their momentum.
One reason to get excited: The Patriots haven't looked this sharp to start a season in some time. There's a long way to go, but the defending champs once again look like a top NFL contender. Their next game is Oct. 11 at Dallas against the Tony Romo-less Cowboys.
One reason to be concerned: The defense looked vulnerable at times, including one Jaguars drive that lasted 8:24 and extended from late in the first quarter into the second quarter. The drive was aided by a fluky play in which Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles fumbled on a play that most defenders thought was an incomplete pass and recovering on third-and-7 to extend the march. If not for an ill-advised Bortles interception late in the second quarter, when the Patriots led 13-3 and the game was still in question, perhaps this one wouldn't have gotten out of hand.
Fantasy watch: Dion Lewis continues to be the featured running back for the Patriots, as the team has trended more toward pass-first groupings through the first three weeks of the season. Lewis played 28 snaps in the first half against the Jaguars, followed by LeGarrette Blount's eight. Both had solid production when in the game; it was just a matter of how the Patriots decided to attack more often. Blount ended up serving as the closer, playing more in the second half and scoring three touchdowns. By unofficial count, Lewis played 35 snaps overall, followed by Blount's 29. James White had 15 and Brandon Bolden 1.
Gostkowski's PAT record: Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski set the NFL record for consecutive successful point-after attempts, surpassing Matt Stover's mark of 422. Gostkowski has missed only one PAT in his career, in Week 17 of his rookie season in 2006.
What were they thinking? Maybe the only area in this game where one could be critical of the Patriots is keeping Brady in the game late in the fourth quarter with a 44-10 lead. But that's a real nitpick, especially considering all week, coach Bill Belichick stressed the importance of playing 60 minutes.
Ouch: The Patriots didn't have any major injuries in the game. Defensive tackle Dominique Easley, who had injured his left hip in the season opener Sept. 10, returned to action for the first time.