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Faulk, Cassel helps Patriots defeat Rams

Oct 26, 2008 - 10:33 PM By Mike Petraglia PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- The New England Patriots had just enough to survive the St. Louis Rams.

Matt Cassel threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Faulk with 3:19 remaining and Randy Moss caught seven passes for 102 yards as the Patriots held off the Rams, 23-16, at Gillette Stadium. It was the first loss in three games for the Rams under new head coach Jim Haslett.

"It was a great catch by him," Cassel said of Faulk. "He made a great move on a linebacker. He was in one-on-one coverage and I just tried to put it out there and give him a chance to make the catch. He did a great job. He did what Kevin Faulk does best."

"I think that's what you come in for," Faulk said. "You don't have a lot of opportunities sometimes. But the thing is, you always have to be ready because you don't know when the situation is going to come up. The situation came up today where we were down to three running backs and we had to carry the load."

The Patriots improved to 3-1 this season at home, despite season-ending injuries to Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison and Laurence Maroney.

"Like I told the team after the game, this is a good example of having to play 60 minutes like we always have to do in this league," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Those guys really stepped up and made some big plays in the fourth quarter."

The game-winning drive required only a 53-yard drive by Cassel, as the Patriots finally took advantage of the good field position they enjoyed all day.

"The game really boiled down to second half field position," said Rams coach Jim Haslett, who lost for the first time in three games since taking over for Scott Linehan. "They had great field position on offense all day. Our offense had (bad) field position all day. We had too many penalties on special teams and that is really what it came down to."

Deltha O'Neal, out earlier in the game with a head injury, sealed the win with an interception and a 47-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter.

With Steven Jackson not playing because of a thigh injury, the Rams (2-5) turned to their passing game and it responded early and often.

Marc Bulger found rookie Donnie Avery for 35 yards on the opening drive of the game, setting up a 20-yard Josh Brown field goal.

The Patriots showed early in the game that they were making defensive adjustments on the fly, forcing the Patriots coaching staff to alter their defensive approach.

"It kind of did just because we didn't know what to expect and if they were cooking up a few new things," said Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas, who had two sacks on the day. "When one of their best players isn't in there, then you don't know exactly what it is. They stayed true to what they like to do, but at the same time, their running game wasn't going to be exactly the same because Jackson was out."

Avery finished with 163 yards on six catches while Bulger was 18-of-34 for 301 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

"The numbers don't count if you can't get the win," Avery said. "We need to go out next week and get it done. We are a team and everyone has to put in, that is what we did today. We just didn't get it done today."

Down 3-0, the Patriots (5-2) responded with 13-play drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown plunge by rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis, his second touchdown in as many games.

Green-Ellis, a rookie from Mississippi, got his first career start as the Patriots were playing without running backs Sammy Morris (knee) and LaMont Jordan (calf).

But the Rams again turned to the air to respond, as Bulger connected with Avery for 69 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown, the longest completion of his career.

The Patriots responded with field goals of 30 and 27 yards from Steve Gostkowski, the last of which came as time expired in the second quarter.

The Rams used a bit of trickery to open the second half as Brown executed an on-sides kick perfectly, with the Rams recovering at their own 42. But St. Louis went three-and-out and punted.

Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted Cassel on New England's second possession of the third quarter and the Rams converted it into a game-tying 44-yard field goal by Brown.

With the score, 13-13, the Rams defense came up big again later in the quarter when they stopped Green-Ellis on fourth and 1 at the St. Louis 36. On the next play, Bulger found Avery for 44 yards, setting up the go-ahead 25-yard field goal.