Final: Patriots 34, Redskins 27

The New England Patriots faced the Washington Redskins this afternoon at FedEx Field. The Patriots were looking for their fifth win in a row if they could get past the Redskins. The Patriots were without Patrick Chung (foot), Dan Connelly (groin), and Sebastian Vollmer (back/ankle) all due to injuries. They also released Sterling Moore late in the week giving them one less defensive safety.

The first quarter started well for the Patriots as they were able to recover a fumble that was recovered by Vince Wilfork in the end zone. This gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead to start the game. After a field goal by the Redskins, Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski for an 11 yard touchdown pass that gave the Patriots a 14-3 lead. But the defense of the Patriots would struggle and they allowed the Redskins to score two consecutive touchdowns that gave the Redskins a 17-14 lead. The Patriots would tie the game on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. After a Redskins field goal, Stephen Gostkowski knotted the game up at 20 with a 24 yard field goal.

The game was tied at the half with a Patriots defense that couldn’t stop the Redskins from scoring the ball. They were lost covering the Redskin receivers and were leaving guys wide open. If the Patriots defense continued to struggle like this on the defensive end they could cost themselves the game.

The third quarter started the way the Patriots wanted as Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a 37 yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 27-20 lead. This was their first lead since first quarter when they led 14-10. Brady and Gronkowski made it look easy out their on the field and they continue to have great success together. Later the Patriots were able to break a tie of 27-27 when Tom Brady found Wes Welker for a 24 yard touchdown. This was a very key score for the Patriots, who hoped to keep the Redskins out of the red zone for the rest of the game. Moving into the fourth quarter both the Patriots and Redskins gave the ball back to each other as each struggled to convert. Tom Brady had an open Wes Welker at the goal line, but Welker dropped the ball that led to a Brady interception.

Closing out the quarter the Patriots defense enabled the Redskins to get the ball all the way down field, but Jerod Mayo was able to get an interception that handed the Patriots their fifth straight win. The Patriots won 34-27 in a very tough game against the Redskins. This win also marked the first time that the Patriots have won at FedEx Field.