5:58 p.m.: The Patriots had the ball for 39:49, nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in the game. "We chewed up the clock, moved the ball up and down the field and scored points" left guard Logan Mankins said.
5:53 p.m.: Matt Ryan on his first trip to Gillette Stadium: "I had never been down here. First and foremost, it was cool to see it. I have watched from a distance during my time at BC."
5:45 p.m.: Randy Moss, who eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the 61st time in his career, has 26 receptions through three games, which is the best start in his career.
5:36 p.m.: The Patriots didn't allow a sack for the second consecutive game. They've gone 134 pass attempts without surrendering a sack, which is longest current streak in the NFL.
5:05 p.m.: There were no updates on Vince Wilfork's injury, but Mike Wright said he is fine after hurting his right shoulder in the fourth quarter. Wright said a Falcon landed on him, and he tweaked his shoulder as a result. He sounded optimistic about everything and shouldn't miss any time.
Bill Belichick said Jonathan Wilhite suffered an injury Sunday morning but did not elaborate.
Final: Patriots 26, Falcons 10: The Patriots were dominant in a must-win game at home against the Falcons, and they improve to 2-1 with the victory. I'm heading downstairs for the press conferences and locker room access, and I'll be back with updates afterward.
Fourth quarter, 6:52: The Patriots' defense has been flawless in the second half, and they've forced the Falcons to punt once again. The Patriots are taking over at their own 22-yard line, and they're going to try to bleed the clock dry.
Patriots 26, Falcons 10. Fourth quarter, 7:47: Tom Brady hit a wide-open Chris Baker for a 36-yard touchdown down the right sideline. On the play, Brady became the 27th player in league history to reach 200 touchdown passes.
Fourth quarter, 10:55: Kevin Faulk returned Atlanta's punt to the Patriots' 28-yard line. As a side note, one reporter just said Tom Brady is 3-for-10 for 10 yards on passes in the red zone. Ouch.
Fourth quarter, 12:13: Mike Wright hit the ground for a minute after the last play. He walked off under his own power and is on the bench with the medical staff.
Fourth quarter, 12:21: The crowd just started going crazy when the video boards showed Brandon Meriweather and Gary Guyton dancing to the music on the PA system prior to the Falcons' first offensive play of the series.
Fourth quarter, 12:26: The Patriots went three-and-out for the first time in the game, and the Falcons take over at their own 26-yard line after Chris Hanson's punt.
Fourth quarter, 14:30: Tight end Tony Gonzalez caught a 16-yard pass, which was his first reception of the game. Brandon McGowan and Co. have done an outstanding job to shut down one of the best tight ends of all-time.
Patriots 19, Falcons 10. Fourth quarter, 14:55: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 33-yard field goal to push the Pats' lead to nine points. The Patriots have scored on all five of their visits to the red zone, which is good. But they've kicked four field goals, which is anything but good.
End of the third quarter. Patriots 16, Falcons 10: The Patriots have their special teams unit out there, and they're going to open the fourth quarter with their fourth field-goal attempt from the red zone in the game. I think it's pretty clear what the Patriots' offense will be working on this week in practice.
Third quarter, 0:06: But, apparently Mike Smith felt comfortable challenging the last play when Sammy Morris fumbled the ball after his knee hit the ground. The Falcons are now out of challenges.
Third quarter, 2:30: There it was. Mike Smith should have challenged Randy Moss's third-down reception, but Smith had to be thinking about the challenge he was forced to waste earlier in the game. Even though it looked like Moss dropped the ball as he hit the ground, Smith knew he couldn't afford to lose a challenge because he would have been all out for the rest of the game. The refs' blown call in the first half really hurt the Falcons here in the third quarter.
Third quarter, 4:55: The Patriots go for it a ton on fourth down, but Bill Belichick showed some real brass going for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 25-yard line.
Third quarter, 6:20: There are a ton of empty seats in the upper levels at Gillette Stadium.
Third quarter, 6:54: The Falcons punted, and the Patriots are taking over at their own 15-yard line. The Pats have scored on four of their five possessions and lead 16-10.
Third quarter, 7:51: Michael Jenkins got called for offensive pass interference that wiped out a 36-yard touchdown reception. Leigh Bodden did a nice job selling that penalty. That's also the second touchdown that has been taken off the board in the game.
Patriots 16, Falcons 10. Third quarter, 9:01: Death, taxes and the Patriots kicking field goals in the red zone. Stephen Gostkowski booted a 22-yarder to extend New England's lead. The Patriots have completely controlled the game, and they've only got a six-point lead to show for it. This is exactly how last week's game against the Jets was going before New York punched one in the end zone and took over. The Patriots have four red-zone trips Sunday, and they've kicked three field goals.
Third quarter, 10:47: Patriots fans joined in unison to sarcastically cheer Joey Galloway after the receiver made an eight-yard reception for a first down.
Third quarter, 14:56: The second half is underway, and the Patriots have the ball to start their drive at their own 17-yard line.
Halftime. Patriots 13, Falcons 10: To this point, the difference in the game has been Michael Turner's fumble, which the Patriots turned into a late field goal. New England scored on three of its four possessions in the opening half, and if the Patriots maintain their ball security, they'll be in good shape to move to 2-1 on the season.
Patriots 13, Falcons 10. Second quarter, 0:20: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Patriots the lead before the half. It capped off a 12-play, 58-yard drive that spanned 3:36. If the Patriots can cover the kickoff well, the Falcons will likely sit on the ball and take the game to halftime.
Second quarter, 0:40: Julian Edelman just showed his true value on an 11-yard completion. He made a couple of moves, broke a tackle and gained an extra six yards to get the Patriots a first down.
Second quarter, 2:00: The Patriots just announced Vince Wilfork has an ankle injury, and Laurence Maroney has a thigh injury. Both returns are questionable.
Second quarter, 3:56: Brandon McGowan forced a Michael Turner fumble, and James Sanders emerged from the scrum with the ball in hand. It's the first turnover of the game for either team.
Second quarter, 4:39: Vince Wilfork hit the turf after the Falcons' last play, and he was in some serious pain. He walked off the field on his own power after being looked at by the Patriots' trainers. He went to the bench for about a minute, and they were looking at his left leg (possible calf). Wilfork is now in the locker room.
Second quarter, 5:32: The Patriots dropped six guys into coverage on third down, and wide receiver Marty Booker was still left wide open for an 11-yard completion. Leigh Bodden was in coverage.
Second quarter, 7:24: I'm about 20 feet from the wall that divides the press box and the Falcons' coaches' booth, and I've got to say, they are a lively bunch in there. They can be heard cheering after every positive play.
Patriots 10, Falcons 10. Second quarter, 8:43: Michael Turner's two-yard touchdown run capped off Atlanta's eight-play, 59-yard drive that lasted 2:58. On the drive, the Falcons won a challenge, converted a fourth down, scored a touchdown and the Patriots lost a challenge. Things don't get much more successful than that.
Second quarter, 8:48: Bill Belichick just lost a challenge after contesting the Falcons' completion to Michael Jenkins. It didn't seem like a smart challenge on Belichick's part.
Second quarter, 10:15: If I'm Mike Smith, I'm absolutely heated that I've got to waste a challenge on that last play.
If you're not able to see the game at home, Matt Ryan clearly threw an incompletion that was batted down at the line by Vince Wilfork, picked up off the ground by Shawn Springs and run back to the end zone. Smith won the challenge and won't lose a timeout, but there's the slight chance the Falcons could run out of challenges before the end of the game. The play was originally ruled a fumble because the officials are too worried about blowing plays dead with the way the replay system is constructed.
Patriots 10, Falcons 3. Second quarter, 11:41: Nice series for Fred Taylor, who capped off a six-play, 51-yard drive (2:29) with an eight-yard touchdown run. It's the Patriots' first touchdown since the fourth quarter against the Bills in the season opener. Taylor has both of the Patriots' rushing touchdowns this season.
Second quarter, 11:55: Fred Taylor just passed John Riggins for 15th on the all-time rushing list.
Second quarter, 14:03: Falcons cornerback Brian Williams made an excellent play at the last second to knock away a potential 51-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss. Williams is yet another guy who has added some depth and professionalism to the Falcons' locker room, and he came over from Jacksonville, where he previously played for Atlanta head coach Mike Smith.
Second quarter, 14:10: The Patriots held the Falcons to a quick three-and-out on an ugly offensive series. Michael Koenen made matters worse by shanking a 29-yard punt, and the Patriots will take over at their own 49-yard line.
End of first quarter. Patriots 3, Falcons 3: Good first quarter for both teams. I think it showed what everyone expected coming into this game: Offenses will dominate the pace of play.
Patriots 3, Falcons 3. First quarter, 0:42: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 21-yard field goal to tie the game. The Patriots held the ball for an eternity on their first offensive drive of the game, which spanned 15 plays, 81 yards and 8:39. The Patriots will be able to move the ball on Atlanta's defense all day, but they've got to stop settling for field goals, and that's been an ugly trend for their offense this season.
First quarter, 5:47: The Patriots just benefited from a brutal roughing-the-passer penalty on defensive end Jamaal Anderson, who merely pushed Tom Brady in the back about a second after he delivered his pass to Randy Moss.
First quarter, 9:00: Patriots offensive starters are Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Chris Baker, Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris..
Falcons 3, Patriots 0. First quarter, 9:21. Jason Elam kicked a 26-yard field goal to put the Falcons ahead and cap off a 12-play, 72-yard drive that spanned 5:39. By the way, Elam won't be kicking any long field goals Sunday. He was warming up before the game and maxed out around 50 yards, and he started to get really erratic once he pushed past 40 yards.
First quarter, 11:00: Terrence Wheatley, who has to come up big Sunday in the absence of Jonathan Wilhite and Darius Butler, got burnt by Roddy White for a 14-yard reception and a first down.
First quarter, 14:30: Patriots defensive starters are Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Mike Wright, Derrick Burgess, Jarvis Green, Gary Guyton, Adalius Thomas, Leigh Bodden, Shawn Springs, Brandon Meriweather and Brandon McGowan.
1:01 p.m.: The Patriots will be kicking off to start the game. Still a little rainy here, but nothing too crazy.
12:53 p.m.: The Falcons' eight inactives are quarterback John Parker Wilson, cornerback Tye Hill, safety William Moore, Jerious Norwood, linebacker Spencer Adkins, offensive tackles Will Svitek and Garrett Reynolds, and defensive tackle Vance Walker.
11:36 a.m.: Wes Welker is inactive for the second consecutive week with his knee injury, but Randy Moss will play. The Patriots' other inactives are Prescott Burgess, Darius Butler, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Jerod Mayo, Rich Ohrnberger, Kendall Simmons and Jonathan Wilhite.
The surprising name here is Wilhite, who wasn't listed on the Patriots' participation report all week. This can't have anything to do with performance because he's clearly played well and the Patriots need all the help they can get at cornerback with Butler missing the game with a thigh injury. New England will need a huge effort from starters Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs, along with backup Terrence Wheatley.
10:50 a.m.: The grounds crew has just taken the tarp off of the field, and a few players from each team have started to warm up outside at Gillette Stadium. It's raining very lightly, and it's a little cold outside. At this point, the weather isn't poor enough to really affect either team's passing game, but kickoff is obviously still two hours away.
There's still no word yet on wide receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss, but the Patriots will announce their inactive list at 11:30. I'll pass along the information as I get it.
9:22 a.m.: Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Matt Ryan, permanently linked for leading their respective Boston-area teams to tremendously successful seasons, meet on the football field for the first time on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, as the New England Patriots (1-1, 1-1 AFC East) host the Atlanta Falcons (2-0, 1-0 NFC South).
Brady, the 2007 NFL MVP, is trying to guide the Patriots to their second home victory of the season, while Ryan, a 2007 Heisman Trophy candidate and 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, will do his part to push the Falcons to 3-0 for the first time since 2004.
