Give game balls to Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather (two interceptions, one touchdown), quarterback Tom Brady (308 passing yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions) and wide receiver Wes Welker (10 catches, 107 yards, one touchdown).
Fourth quarter, 1:02: Raheem Morris couldn't go for it on fourth down on the New England 35-yard line with his team down by 21, but he's got no issues going for it on fourth-and-7 at the Tampa 23 while trailing by 28? Well, when you know the other team is just going to kneel on it if you fail, I guess you can grow some fake muscles. It starts at the top with the Bucs, and Raheem Morris has shown me nothing as far as being a capable head coach in this league.
Fourth quarter, 1:32: The announced attendance at Wembley Stadium is 84,254.
Fourth quarter, 1:50: Josh Freeman will get his second chance to move the offense after the Patriots punted it away. Tampa Bay takes possession at its own 20-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 6:20: And Brian Hoyer is in the game at quarterback along with most of the other offensive backups. Tom Brady finished the day 23 of 32 for 308 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Fourth quarter, 6:34: Wes Welker returned Dirk Johnson's punt to the Patriots' 36-yard line. The Brian Hoyer watch has begun.
Fourth quarter, 9:25: Bucs first-round pick Josh Freeman will see his first action of his career. The Bucs should be happy they lost a home game to play in London. They'd be getting pelted with boos by the Tampa faithful if this game was going down in the shadow of the pirate ship.
Patriots 35, Buccaneers 7. Fourth quarter, 9:25: Laurence Maroney plowed through the right side of the line and scored from one yard out. It's his second touchdown in the last two weeks. The Bucs are out to lunch.
Fourth quarter, 10:00: This is a bad sign for the Patriots' defense. Defensive end Ty Warren was carted into the locker room with a right ankle injury.
Fourth quarter, 13:20: Logan Mankins was whistled for his third false start of the game. He has been penalized four times for 25 yards Sunday against the Bucs. Tough day for the left side of the Patriots' offensive line.
End of third quarter. Patriots 28, Buccaneers 7: The Patriots have the ball deep in their own territory as they switch ends for the start of the fourth quarter. Raheem Morris' decision not to go for it on fourth down is astounding. His team is 0-6 and has zero chance to accomplish anything worth bragging about this season. Where is the harm in building a little chemistry by trying to spark a comeback? Was he worried the extra 25 yards in field position would help the Patriots increase their chances of really blowing out the Bucs, instead of kind of blowing out the Bucs?
Third quarter, 0:28: Apparently, Raheem Morris doesn't feel like his team should be going for it on fourth-and-6 from the Pats' 35-yard line while his team trails by 21 points. The Patriots take over at their own 10-yard line after Tampa's punt.
Third quarter, 1:36: Speaking of uninspiring, the Patriots went three-and-out, and a good punt return gives the Bucs possession at the New England 39-yard line.
Third quarter, 2:34: After another uninspiring possession from the Bucs' offense, the Patriots take possession at their own 7-yard line. I just don't see any fire, competitiveness or any sign from the Bucs that winning is important to them. There's a lack of discipline, which is evident from their penalties after the whistle, and there doesn't seem to be any structure to their offense. As I wrote last week, this looks like a team that has no direction and no chance of improving anytime soon.
Third quarter, 6:40: The Bucs take over at their own 33-yard line after Chris Hanson's punt. On another note, left guard Logan Mankins has committed three penalties in this game — two false starts and one holding penalty. The Patriots' offense has not been able to record a first down after each of Mankins' penalties, which shows how costly they've been.
Third quarter, 7:48: The Bucs went three-and-out for the sixth time in the game. Their other four possessions have resulted in three interceptions and one touchdown.
The Patriots take over at their own 32-yard line after Wes Welker called for a fair catch on Dirk Johnson's punt.
Third quarter, 9:13: Stephen Gostkowsi's kickoff resulted in a touchback, and the Bucs will take over at their own 20-yard line. The Patriots' defense was its strongest unit of the first half, so they're probably champing at the bit to get back onto the field and make up for Antonio Bryant's second-quarter touchdown.
Patriots 28, Buccaneers 7. Third quarter, 9:13: Tom Brady hit an open Ben Watson in a seam on the right side of the field for a 35-yard touchdown. It wasn't a picture-perfect drive for the Pats' offense, as Sebastian Vollmer was flagged twice for holding, but Brady can't argue with the result. I'm wondering if there is something physically wrong with Vollmer. He appeared to get nicked up late in the second quarter, and all three of his mistakes have occurred since then.
Third quarter, 14:54: Brandon Tate returned the kickoff to the Patriots' 27-yard line, and the offense has its first chance to turn things around.
Halftime. Patriots 21, Buccaneers 7: Darius Butler intercepted Josh Johnson's final heave of the half, and the Patriots probably have some mixed emotions heading into the locker room. They started out great, but they've made some costly mistakes on the offensive side of the ball to allow Tampa Bay to stay close in this game.
I don't think the Bucs have a chance to come back or anything, but there is no way Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are doing backflips over the first-half performance. Brady threw two interceptions — one in the end zone — and the Patriots have committed some penalties that have also left some points on the field.
New England gets the ball on the second-half kickoff, so we'll see right away how much focus they come out with to correct those issues.
Second quarter, 0:13: Let's see if the Bucs try to tack on a few more points before the half. The Patriots victimized themselves with three mistakes on their last offensive series — a drop by Randy Moss, holding by Logan Mankins and a sack allowed by Sebastian Vollmer.
Patriots 21, Buccaneers 7. Second quarter, 1:14: Wide receiver Antonio Bryant abused rookie cornerback Darius Butler on the last two plays. First, he beat Butler for an 18-yard reception on third-and-14, and then he hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Josh Johnson. It wasn't awful coverage by Butler. It was more about Bryant showing off the ability that made him a star late last season, with great route running on third down and perfect positioning on the touchdown reception.
Second quarter, 3:06: Patriots special teams coach Scott O'Brien is going to be sick over that series. The Patriots were going to fake a punt on fourth-and-1, but left guard Logan Mankins was shistled for a false start. When the traditional punt team went onto the field, the Bucs got through the line and deflected Chris Hanson's punt. The punt still traveled 26 yards and rolled out of bounds at the Tampa Bay 33-yard line.
Second quarter, 6:28: The Bucs aren't good at many things, but they're excellent at three-and-outs on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots take over at their own 25-yard line after Dirk Johnson's punt.
Second quarter, 8:49: Aqib Talib intercepted Tom Brady's long pass for Brandon Tate down the middle of the field. It was Brady's second interception of the game, and the Bucs take over at their own 41-yard line.
Second quarter, 9:41: The Patriots take over at their own 33-yard line after the Bucs' fourth consecutive three-and-out. Pat Chung (Oregon) just said hello to Sammie Stroughter (Oregon State) after Stroughter couldn't haul in a third-down pass from Josh Johnson.
Second quarter, 11:18: Let's see if the Bucs can do something on this drive, which starts at their own 20-yard line. I don't think anyone is holding their breath, though.
Patriots 21, Buccaneers 0. Second quarter, 11:18: Sam Aiken showed some breakaway speed on a 54-yard touchdown pass. Aiken, the special teams captain who is playing as the Pats' third receiver due to Julian Edelman's forearm injury, took a short pass on the right side, broke Barrett Ruud's tacke (Ruud is one of the premier tacklers in the NFL) and flew down the right sideline to pad the Pats' lead.
Second quarter, 12:16: Tully Banta-Cain and Derrick Burgess closed the pocket and pressured Josh Johnson on the Bucs' third-down play, and rookie safety Pat Chung flew in late to finish off the sack. After Dirk Johnson's punt, the Patriots take over at their own 46-yard line.
Second quarter, 13:36: Hold the blowout. (Can we put that sentence on a sign and hang it in barbershops?) Tom Brady underthrew a pass to Randy Moss, and it was picked off in the end zone by safety Tanard Jackson. Tampa takes over at its own 20-yard line.
End of the first quarter. Patriots 14, Buccaneers 0: The Patriots resume their drive in Bucs territory on the other side of the break, and this game is minutes away from really getting out of hand.
First quarter, 0:56: Wes Welker returned Dirk Johnson's punt to the Bucs' 30-yard line. Tampa Bay should be wearing its orange and white throwbacks from its inaugural season in 1976, when the Bucs went 0-14. This is a terrible football team.
First quarter, 2:07: The Bucs take over at their own 11-yard line after a holding call limited their kickoff return.
Patriots 14, Buccaneers 0. First quarter, 2:16: Wes Welker took a screen pass 14 yards for a touchdown to double the Patriots' lead. Credit left tackle Sebastian Vollmer (all 6-foot-8 of him) for pulling left and blocking two Bucs to allow Welker enough room to run to the end zone.
First quarter, 4:45: There it is. The Patriots immediately get Brandon Tate involved, as he took an end-around to the left side for 11 yards. Also of note, linebacker Adalius Thomas and left tackle Sebastian Vollmer were both in the Patriots' starting lineup.
First quarter, 4:58: Wes Welker called for the fair catch on Dirk Johnson's punt, and the Patriots get the ball back at their own 33-yard line. Look for the Pats to open it up more on this possession.
First quarter, 6:40: The Bucs take over at their own 29-yard line after the Patriots took the conservative route and punted on fourth-and-2 from midfield. Bill Belichick usually opts to play aggressively in those situations, but with the way the Bucs are killing themselves on offense, Belichick probably decided to let Josh Johnson have it again. Belichick also usually takes a few more risks against tougher opponents in bigger games. This might be a sign in how confident he is against the lowly Bucs.
First quarter, 9:00: Brandon Meriweather loves Wembley Stadium right now. He intercepted Josh Johnson for the second time in as many drives and returned the pick 31 yards to the New England 46-yard line.
First quarter, 12:18: Sammie Stroughter returned the kickoff to the Bucs' 25-yard line, and if Josh Johnson wants to rebound from that pick-six, all he has to do is "pull his pants up," according to CBS analyst Phil Simms.
Patriots 7, Buccaneers 0. First quarter, 12:26: Now, that's how you bait a quarterback. Brandon Meriweather camped out behind receiver Sammie Stroughter, and the safety jumped the route as soon as quarterback Josh Johnson committed to the pass. Meriweather returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown, and the Patriots have an early lead in London.
First quarter, 14:54: Sammie Stroughter returned the kickoff to the Bucs' 18-yard line, and the teams are in business in London. By the way, they are four hours ahead over there, so kickoff was at 5 p.m.
12:50 p.m.: As I posted earlier, there weren't any real surprises with the Patriots' inactive list, but there are definitely some noteworthy trends. Rookie offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger has been inactive for the seventh consecutive game, and he hasn't been on the injury report all season.
Another rookie, second-round pick Ron Brace, has been inactive in four consecutive games for non-injury related reasons. Credit the strong play of the rest of the interior defensive linemen, including rookie Myron Pryor, but the Patriots have to be disappointed they're not getting anything from their second draft pick in 2009.
Offensive lineman Kendall Simmons is inactive for the sixth time this season. He was on the active roster last week to provide depth due to Matt Light's injury, but with this weekend's activation of Mark LeVoir off of the PUP list, Simmons has fallen down the depth chart.
Second-year cornerback Terrence Wheatley is inactive for the fourth consecutive game for non-injury reasons, and this is the sixth time he has been inactive this season (he had a knee injury during the first two games of the regular season). Wheatley, a 2008 second-round pick, has fallen to fifth on the depth chart at cornerback.
Light is missing his second consecutive game with a right knee injury. Wide receiver Julian Edelman is missing his first game with a broken forearm and his second game overall (he missed the season opener with an ankle injury). Running back Fred Taylor is out for the third game with an ankle injury, and running back Sammy Morris is missing his first game of the season with a knee injury. Bill Belichick said last week he would have put Taylor and Morris on injured reserve if he thought they'd miss the remainder of the season, so it appears their injuries aren't overly severe.
11:40 a.m.: Rookie wide receiver Brandon Tate will play in his first game for the Patriots on Sunday. The team announced its inactive list a minute ago. We already knew left tackle Matt Light, wide receiver Julian Edelman and running backs Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris would not play against the Buccaneers in London. Also on that list are cornerback Terrence Wheatley, defensive lineman Ron Brace and offensive linemen Rich Ohrnberger and Kendall Simmons.
This also means linebacker Adalius Thomas is back in the lineup after he was benched last Sunday against the Titans. We'll assume Thomas responded the way Bill Belichick wanted him to respond after he deactivated his starting linebacker for the first time in Thomas' three-year Patriots career.
9:00 a.m.: The New England Patriots are going to treat European sports fans with a solid brand of American football on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. The Buccaneers, on the other hand, will try not to set the sport back by three decades. This will be a mismatch of ugly proportions, as the Patriots (4-2) should easily knock off the Bucs (0-6) and win their second consecutive game by a lopsided margin.
The Patriots will be without left tackle Matt Light, wide receiver Julian Edelman and running backs Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris. This is another opportunity for several Patriots to step up in their absence. Last week, rookie tackle Sebastian Vollmer had a fine performance in place of Light, while running back Laurence Maroney had his best showing since the 2007 playoffs. With Edelman out of the lineup, all eyes will be on rookie wideout Brandon Tate, who is expected to see the field for the first time in his career. Tate has also been working on kick and punt returns during his the week of practice, and if he is activated Sunday from the non-football injury list, it's safe to assume his electric style of play will immediately win over Patriots fans.
Here is a question for the readers: Does the London gimmick genuinely excite anyone? Annoy anyone? Or is this just something you accept as a football fan? Leave your comments below, and stay with NESN.com's live blog throughout the day.
