On Sunday the New England Patriots were finally able to get rolling, serving up a balanced attack with Fred Taylor rushing for 105 yards and Tom Brady throwing for 277 yards in the Patriots 26-10 victory over the Falcons.

A week after not being able to score a touchdown against the New York Jets in their 16-9 defeat, Taylor had a 8 yard rushing score and Brady a 36 yard pass to Chris Baker for another touchdown.

On a rainy day, Brady didn’t need to stage a comeback like he did in the Patriots’ opening game when he threw two touchdown passes during the final 2:06 minutes of the game to lead New England over Buffalo 25-24.

However the 2-1 Patriots still had lots of problems in the red zone, settling for four Stephen Gostkowski field goals. Inside Atlanta’s 20, Brady was only able to complete 3 of 19 passes. However Gostkowski was able to connect on field goals from 21, 22, and 33 yards (twice).

Gostkowski’s final field goal came on the fourth quarter’s first play to make the score 19-10. Midway through the fourth period Brady connected with Baker in the end zone.

New England’s defense prevented Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez from getting a catch until finally the tight end caught one during the opening minute of the final quarter.

The Falcons (2-1) were able to score on two of their first three possessions. Jason Elam had a field goal of 26 yards and Turner, who last year had a 106 rushing yards average and 85 yards in the first two games this year, scored on a 2 yard rushing touchdown.

The Patriots were also able to control Matt Ryan, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. In the first two games of the season Ryan had five touchdowns and a completed pass percentage of 68 percent. On Sunday, in his return to the New England area after starring at Boston College, he was 17 for 28 for a total of 199 yards and no interceptions or touchdowns.

Tom Brady went 25 for 42 for a total of 277 yards and didn’t have any interceptions. He did not face nearly as much pressure as he did in the first two games of the season.

After Atlanta’s Michael Koenen shanked a 29 yard punt putting the Patriots on their 49 yard line, the Patriots capitalized and took the led at 10-3. The drive was capped by Taylor’s 8 yard touchdown run. Taylor rushed for 41 yards on the final four plays of the drive.

On their next series, the Falcons were able to tie the score at 10-10 on a 2 yard touchdown run from Turner mid second quarter. The Falcons were able to keep the ball after a ruling on the field nullified a Patriots fumble recovery and touchdown score. The replays clearly showed that Ryan’s arm was definitely going forward. The play was overturned and ruled as an incomplete pass.

However, on Atlanta’s next possession they did lose a fumble. Following a 4 yard rush by Turner, New England’s James Sanders picked the loose ball up, giving the Patriot’s the football at Atlanta’s 27 yard line. However, Brady threw three incompletions in a row. Gostkowski kicked a field goal from 33 yards out with just 20 seconds remaining until halftime.

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