New England Patriots defeat Cincinnati Bengals, 34-13

CINCINNATI - After the Patriots' 34-13 win Monday night over Cincinnati, Tedy Bruschi joked that teams should consider putting a stop sign on Mike Vrabel.

Bruschi's fellow linebacker was once again a touchdown-catching tight end, grabbing a 1-yard pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter. It was Vrabel's ninth career reception, all of which have resulted in scores.

But on the other side of the ball Vrabel, Bruschi, and the Patriots defense did put up stop signs, espe...

CINCINNATI - In the House That Corey Dillon Built - and discarded his shoulder pads - the Patriots made themselves at home against the Cincinnati Bengals for the second straight season, and it was one of Dillon's replacements in the Patriots backfield, Sammy Morris, who was the best Ohio player.

Morris was filling in for Laurence Maroney, who helped the Patriots gash the Bengals for a season-high 236 rushing yards on 41 carries last year but was a last-minute no-go with...

CINCINNATI - You expect them to win just by showing up. This must have been what it was like watching UCLA when Lew Alcindor, then Bill Walton dominated college basketball. This must have been what it was like when Sonny Liston, then Mike Tyson, KO'd a succession of tomato cans in the heavyweight division.

Your Patriots took their game to "Monday Night Football" last night and New England fans arriving home from the embarrassing Red Sox rally (are these things MLB-manda...

CINCINNATI - The Patriots knew they had a mismatch in last night's game against the Bengals. It just took them a while to settle in and exploit it.

When a team has a dramatic linebacker shortage, as the Bengals do, there are different ways to attack that area, and the Patriots tried a little bit of everything early on, even putting running backs Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris on the field at the same time for three snaps.

They sprinkled in a not-often-seen reverse play...