The New England Patriots and Tom Brady needed a cross Atlantic trip to finally get a road win this season. A change in scenery for Tampa Bay only produced another loss and the Buccaneers are still winless.

Tom Brady had three touchdown passes along with over 300 passing yards, as New England (5-2) defeated Tampa Bay 35-7 on Sunday in Wembley Stadium in the third NFL regular season game played in the London iconic venue.

Tampa Bay, who sacrificed one of their home games so that they could play in London, saw their record fall to 0-7 and also extended their overall losing streak to 11 games.

New England came into the game with a 59-0 victory where Brady has six touchdown passes against Tennessee. This time the Patriots were not as overpowering. Brady had two interceptions during the first half.

However, with safety Brandon Meriweather’s 39 yard interception return and score on the game’s fifth play, New England was able to keep control against the NFL’s 27th ranked defense.

Brady threw touchdown passes to Benjamin Watson, Sam Aiken and Wes Welker. He finished the game passing 23 for 32 for a total of 308 yards. Brian Hoyer replaced Brady at the end of the game. The scoring was completed by Laurence Maroney with 9:25 left to play on a 1 yard run.

Brady said, I am feeling really great. I kept rolling. That is two wins for us in a row. We went out and put up two touchdowns during the second half. There were lots of distractions for us coming over here. However everyone was very energized. To be able to get a victory and then fly home with a bye week really is great.

Quarterback Josh Johnson and the Tampa Bay offense were not able to muster too much. The only score for the Bucs was on a pass of 33 yards from Johnson over to Antonio Bryant during the final minutes of the second quarter. Johnson went 9 for 26 for a total of 156 yards and also had three interceptions. Mid fourth quarter Josh Freeman, a rookie, replaced Johnson.

The teams played in front of a sell crowd reported at 84,254 in England’s national stadium Wembley.

It is the third year in a row that the NFL has played a regular season game in London. Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, last week said he envisions several regular season games being played in Britain in the coming years. There is also a possibility that London will have its own franchise.

The atmosphere on Sunday was festive and noisy, with the dry weather providing good playing conditions on Wembley field.

Brady said there was the feel of Super Bowl conditions to the game.

Before the kickoff flashbulbs were going off, said the two time MVP of the Super Bowl. They went off for around 10 minutes. You don’t see that happening in the States very often. It’s a privilege I think coming over here and getting to enjoy this kind of experience. For us probably it won’t ever happen again, so we will retire internationally at 1-0.

Even Bill Belichick, the understated coach of the Patriots, was happy about their international experience.

Belichick said, it’s a really great way for ending the week. The last couple of days here have been really enjoyable. I am glad we were able to end on such a positive note here.

For New England, it was the first road win for them this season, after losing in New York and Denver.

The Glazer family, owners of the Buccaneers, had a bad day. Not only did the Bucs lose but Manchester United, the powerhouse English soccer team that the Glazers also control, lost 2-0 to Liverpool earlier that day. The loss prevented them from regaining the Premier League’s top spot over Chelsea. Brothers Joel and Bryan Glazer watched the Bucs game at Wembley.

The losing streak of 11 games by Tampa Bay is the franchise’s longest since 1976-77. At that time they set an NFL record with their 0-26 losing streak.

Raheem Morris, rookie head coach for Tampa Bay said, our team could not stop Brady.

Brady is the guy who changed the game. You have to worry about him constantly. When your team has a great quarterback, that is what he can do for you.

The game’s tone was set during the first series. On the short slant play, Meriweather stepped right in front of Tampa Bay’s Sammie Stroughter and picked off the throw from Johnson, then ran all the way to the end zone untouched.

Meriweather said, I happened to get a good break for the ball. I think that their receiver and quarterback were on two separate pages. He happened to throw the ball at me. A big play helps to set the mood.

Brady connected with Welker on a touchdown pass of 14 yards after completing a 37 yard pass to Randy Moss. With just 2:16 remaining first quarter, Welker caught the quick pass from behind New England’s line of scrimmage. Then he weaved his way past Tampa Bay’s defenders to score.

Early second quarter, New England was on a drive to get their third score when Brady, whose first seven passes had been completed, scrambled away from the pocket and lobbed a pass to Moss in the end zone. Tanard Jackson intercepted the pass.

However, on the next series Brady was able to come back, ducking under the rush and dumping the ball across the middle over to Aiken, who eluded a tackle from Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay linebacker, and ran up the sideline to score from 54 yards and make the score 21-0 with 11:18 remaining in the first half.

Brady threw his second interception in four passes on a deep throw to Brandon Tate over the middle. Aquib Talib picked off the pass.

Following an anemic first half passing performance by Tampa Bay, Bryant was able to beat Darius Butler, Patriots cornerback up the right sideline to haul in a scoring pass from Johnson.

Brady opened the second half by leading New England on a 10 play, 73 yard drive. He connected with his tight end Watson on a 35 yard pass that went over Geno Hayes, Tampa Bay linebacker. To make the score 28-7.

Notes
There was a local flavor to the pregame festivities. Calvin Harris, Scottish rock singer, performed, while Katherine Jenkins, Welsh opera star, performed “God Save the Queen.” Toni Braxton, Grammy winner, sang “The Star Spangled Banner. Joe Calzaghe, ex middleweight boxing champion, was the honorary captain for Tampa Bay. On Sunday New England only had three active running backs. Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris were both out with injuries.

With the game completely on the line Jake Delhomme, Carolina’s quarterback, somehow was able to find a way to make up the costly mistakes his team had made that helped Tampa Bay tie the game.

Delhomme, who was struggling, handed the football to Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams over and over again.

After the defending champions of the NFC South were able to drive 80 yards during the closing minutes of the game on Sunday to defeat Tampa Bay 28-21 Williams said, I am sure that everyone inside the stadium knew exactly what we were doing.

At times they had nine guys in the box, Williams added. We still were able to get 7 to 8 yards.

The Panthers (2-3) just one week after their first win over Washington, had 267 rushing yards as well as three touchdowns, extending the worst start for Tampa Bay in 24 years.

It is the first time that Tampa Bay (0-6) has started the season losing six games in a row since 1985. They have lost ten games in a row dating back to a December lopsided defeat in Carolina. It is their longest losing streak since 1977 during a time when Tampa Bay was on their way to setting the NFL record of losing 26 games in a row.

Williams rushed for 152 yards in 30 carries, his season best, and also scored two times, including the winning touchdown with just 29 seconds to go in the game. The dive from one yard capped a drive of 16 plays that lasted over eight minutes.

John Fox, Panthers coach said, it takes tough guys to do that. We try breeding that.

Delhomme, who during the second half threw two interceptions, attempted only one pass during the winning drive. It was a four yard pass to Steve Smith, for Smith’s only catch in the game.

Williams, meanwhile, rushed for 33 yards in eight carries and Stewart had 43 yards in seven carries.

Raheem Morris, rookie head coach of Tampa Bay said, at the end we got overpowered. Really during the entire game.

Carolina (2-3) squandered their 21-7 lead, During the third quarter they gave up a kickoff return of 97 yards for a touchdown. Then Tampa Bay tied the game on an interception return of 26 yards by Tanard Jackson.

However once Carolina took the football from Delhomme, Stewart and Williams took over. During the final drive 11 out of 15 of the runs resulted in a gain of at least five yards and none resulted in a loss or no gain.

During the second quarter, Williams scored a touchdown on a run of 20 yards. Late third quarter, a 26 yard run for touchdown from Steward put the Panther ahead 21-7.

During the last meeting of the two rivals of the NFC South, both Stewart and Williams had big games when Carolina ran for 299 yards, their franchise record. Heading into Sunday’s game, the Panthers were only averaging 97.3 rushing yards per game, which put them in 23rd place in the NFL.

Delhomme went 9 for 17 for a total of 65 yards along with one touchdown. His two interceptions gave Tampa Bay an opportunity to get back into the game. During the second quarter a third turnover was forced by Tampa Bay when Jackson caused a fumble by Stewart at Tampa Bay’s 3 yard line.

In addition, the Panthers had to overcome the loss of safety Dante Wesley. Late first half Wesley was ejected after launching himself into Clifton Smith, Tampa Bay punt returner, who had given the fair catch signal.

The hit came with only ten seconds remaining in the first half that brought players off of the sidelines from both teams. It appeared that Wesley left his feet and struck the upper body of Smith using his left shoulder.

For a few minutes after the hit, Smith stayed on the ground. He was then helped up to his feet to walk off of the field. Smith missed the rest of the game due to a concussion.

Wesley claims he had just been trying to make the play. He said he had not tried to hurt Smith, who last season as a rookie was a Pro Bowler kick returner.

The pro of eight years said he hoped that the league wouldn’t fine him.

Wesley said, check my record if you want. I have never tried hurting anyone. I have never tried taking a cheap shot at anyone.

The 20 yard touchdown run by Cadillac Williams provided Tampa Bay with a 7-0 early lead. A long kickoff return by Sammie Stroughter cut the lead of Carolina down to 21-14. With 8:33 left to play, the touchdown by Jackson tied the game.

Josh Johnson, Tampa Bay’s quarterback, went 11 for 17 for a total of 147 yards along with one interception that was run back 24 yards by Thomas Davis, linebacker, setting up the one yard pass for a touchdown from Delhomme to Jeff King.

Tampa Bay’s Cadillac Williams had 77 rushing yards in 16 carries, while Johnson rushed for 45 yards. However, Johnson was also sacked four times. Charles Johnson and Julius Peppers each had two sacks for Carolina.

Donovan McNabb only needed two plays to prove he was not rusty and that his rib was just fine.

McNabb had 264 yards passing and threw three touchdown passes, while Jeremy Maclin, the rookie, caught two passes for touchdowns as the Eagles defeated the Buccaneers on Sunday 33-14.

McNabb said, I did feel pretty good. I thought it would be a slow process. Definitely I didn’t think I would get my first touchdown so fast.

Due to the lopsided score, Michael Vick was able to take some extra snaps during the fourth quarter. Vick had his first complete pass in the last 33 months and also ran for 11 yards on one play.

Philadelphia (3-1) improved their record to 11-0 following a bye week playing for head coach Andy Reid.

Tampa Bay (0-5) still has not won a game playing for Raheem Morris, their new head coach. Their losing streak has been extended to nine games now, which dates back to last December’s 0-4 record that prevented them from making the playoffs last year.

Morris said, it’s obvious that today we were outplayed by a much better football team. Across the board they outplayed us. They made bigger plays. I tried being more aggressive today since we were playing against a better team. There are strides we need to make. We need to evaluate what it is that we have done.

During the season opener in Carolina, McNabb got injured while running to score. The next two games he sat out as Kevin Kolb threw for 300 yards during the first two starts of his career, becoming the first quarterback to do so.

However, McNabb didn’t hesitate when it came to running. On his very first play from the line of scrimmage he scrambled for 13 yards. On his next play, he fired over a perfect touchdown pass of 51 yards to Maclin, giving Philadelphia a lead of 7-0.

After the Eagle’s first score, the Buccaneers were never really in the game.

McNabb said, I was successful being able to move around and was effective doing some different things and picked a few first downs up using my legs. I let the defense know that that can happen.

Tampa Bay’s quarterback Josh Johnson passed for 240 yards and connected with Kellen Winslow on two touchdown passes. He also had three interceptions.

Johnson said, right now I am blaming myself. I had three turnovers and two were while we were inside the red zone. They brought everyone. They brought more defenders than we had for protection. Every time they had extra guys. In our locker room the coaches were say how they hadn’t ever seen anything like it before.

After they lost a defensive touchdown to a reversal- on fourth down and one Johnson was ruled as down after a fumble before he was stripped of the ball by Akeem Jordan who ran back 76 yards- Philadelphia’s offense made it up.

McNabb connected with Brent Celek on a 38 yard pass, and then a 17 yard one with Maclin to set up the touchdown pass of 20 yards to Leonard Weaver, making the score 14-0.

However, Tampa Bay answered with their own 80 yard, five play drive. Johnson threw a 31 yard pass to Antonio Bryant on the very first play of the drive and then fired a touchdown pass of 9 yards over the middle to Winslow.

Philadelphia quickly extended their lead to 21-7. After scrambling for 17 yards, McNabb threw a touchdown pass of 40 yards to Maclin who was in heavy traffic.

Maclin was starting in place of Kevin Curtis due to injury. He finished the game with six receptions for a total of 14 yards, the third most yards by a Philadelphia Eagles rookie.

Maclin said, with the group of talented guys that we have, the big games will rotate between the different guys. I expected myself to make the plays.

The next score was set up by Asante Samuel on his second interception, followed by a 15 yard return down to Tampa Bay’s 27 yard line. Brian Westbrook caught the 20 yard touchdown pass at the seven yard line and ran the ball in from there.

McNabb went 16 for 21 and led the team with 30 yards rushing. His 157.2 QB rating was his second highest of his career.

Reid said, I saw him running the ball. I did not think it would be that much of his game, but he did a great job with it.

The game also saw the return of Jeremiah Trotter, middle linebacker, to Philadelphia. The four time Pro Bowler during his first two playing stints with Philadelphia, hadn’t played since 2007 in the NFL when he played for Tampa Bay. He was not announced as part of the starting lineup, but received a very loud ovation when he ran from the tunnel while performing the ax chop, his signature movement. During the first play of the game he was out on the field, and on many of the running downs did play.

Vick played both wide receiver and quarterback for six plays and a total of 7 yards before he came into the game near the end. He finished the game 1 for 3 for one yard and also ran the ball twice before he knelt down two times.

Vick said, we had the lead. It was good for me to get out there to play a little quarterback and get to throw the football around some. It is part of getting back into my football playing shape, either playing at quarterback or doing the wildcat.

Less than two minutes into the game Washington had already surrendered two sacks and given up a fumble.

In addition they had allowed a quarterback who was making his first start in the NFL to throw a touchdown on just his first pass in the game. By the time halftime rolled around they were down by ten points to a team without any wins, while Jason Campbell, their quarterback, had already thrown two interceptions.

Never mind all the talk over whether or not Jim Zorn was going to last the entire season. You had to wonder there for a while whether or not the booing fans were going to allow the coach, quarterback and rest of Redskins team back on the field to start the second half of the game.

Energized by DeAngelo Hall’s interception, the Redskins were able to find some momentum, life and energy that all season had been missing. Sunday during the third quarter they rallied and score on three possessions in a row to defeat Tampa Bay 16-13.

Campbell said, at halftime I said if we do not pull this game out, on Monday I have no idea what I am going to do. Might as well just hibernate.

The win was another narrow one over a bad team. It was very similar to the ugly 9-7 win over the Rams two weeks ago that felt more like it was a loss. However the Redskins (2-2) do have a .500 record. It doesn’t look too bad in print, particularly after losing last week to Detroit.

Phillip Daniels, Redskins defensive end said, it is a very good feeling due to all we went through this week, hearing about how we lost to Detroit and all of that kind of stuff. It feels great just to be at 2-2.

Their loss left Tampa Bay’s rookie head coach Raheem Morris seeking his first win in the NFL still. However the Buccaneers (0-4) did have their chances after suffering double digit losses three weeks in a row to start off their season.

In the first half Mike Nugent missed on two field goals and for the season was 0 for 4 until making a field goal from 37 yards to end the first half. The three interceptions by Aqib Talib lost some of their luster when he was beaten on a pass of 59 yards down the right hand sideline from Campbell over to Santana Moss, giving Washington the lead in the game for good.

Morris said, I bet he would give back the other three just for that one.

Campbell went 12 out of 22 for a total of 170 yards and had three interceptions and two touchdown passes. He said that it was the very first time he had ever had three interceptions in a football game, including Pee Wee football.

Zorn said, it was very frustrating for all of us. I looked at our game plan and wondered what else would go wrong. Offensively, it was like two entirely different halves.

Josh Johnson, the second year, nimble quarterback, was 13 out of 22 for a total of 106 passing yards and had one interception and one touchdown for the Buccaneers. He ran the ball seven times as well for a total of 41 yards.

Carnell Williams said, for being such a hostile environment the young kid did not do too bad a job. Williams rushed for 77 yards in 16 attempts. We can only go up from where we are here. We are 0-4. We have to look at thing that way.

Just two minutes into the game, Johnson connected on a touchdown pass of 8 yards over to Antonio Bryant. However it ended up being the only touchdown scored by Tampa Bay. Entering into the game, the Redskins were the worst third down defensive team in the league, but on Sunday only allowed Tampa Bay to convert 2 out of 13.

Greg Blache, defensive coordinator who on Saturday night gave the players an usually emotional speech said, it was one thing after another. We are at a point this season where we have got to stand up. We have to change and draw a line down in the dirt.

Blache in public had promised a maverick and riverboat gambler approach this week to their defense. However, he did do any extra blitzes or take more chances than normal.

Blache said, sometimes you just need to make them think that. You put on the clothes and then look the part.