Undefeated Patriots Rout Redskins

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots rolled up their highest point total in 28 years. Tom Brady threw his career-high 30th touchdown pass. Pretty impressive, and there's still half a season to go.

New England's amazing year kept getting better yesterday with a 52-7 rout of Washington. The Redskins entered with the fifth-ranked defense in the NFL and left with the franchise's worst loss since 1961.

"I don't know of a weakness that they have," Washington coach Joe Gibbs said.

Brady threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. Linebacker Mike Vrabel caught a touchdown pass and forced three fumbles by quarterback Jason Campbell that led to 17 points.

The Patriots (8–0) have scored at least 34 points in each game and have won each by 17 points or more. They've outscored opponents by an average of 41.3 to 15.9. At this rate, they'll score 662 points, shattering the NFL single-season record of 556 set by Minnesota in 1998. The 52 points were their most since they scored 56 against the New York Jets in 1979. Still, they followed the line of coach Bill Belichick: dwell on the mistakes so they're not repeated. "It's a long season," Brady said. "It's not even November yet and we've got a lot of room for improvement left."

Now the first half of the season is over. Bring on the Super Bowl champs, the Colts (7–0), whose winning margin is a mere 32 to 14.6.