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WASHINGTON, DC - The Patriots improved their exhibition record to 2-0, beating the Washington Redskins 20-13 at FedEx Field on Saturday night.
The New England starting offense played the entire first half, with quarterback Tom Brady finishing the evening 9-of-18 for 145 yards including an 85-yard bomb to wide receiver David Patten for a touchdown.
The Patriots also took advantage of some Redskins miscues to start the game. On their opening drive a bad shotgun snap by Redskins center Wilbert Brown sailed over quarterback Patrick Ramsey's head, forcing Washington to have to punt inside their own endzone. After the return New England had excellent field position at the Redskins' 40-yard line.
The Patriots' offense came out on the field and immediately went to work. A 13-yard run by Antowain Smith started the drive, and a 10-yard pass to David Patten later set up a 1st-and-10 at the Redskins 5-yard line. On the next play Smith was in the endzone for New England's first touchdown of the game, and led 6-0 after kicker Adam Vinatieri missed the extra point.
The Redskins put together a good drive on their next possession, starting from their own 26-yard line and working their way down to the New England 14 after Washington receiver Laveranues Coles beat Lawyer Milloy for a 29-yard grab. But on the next play Roosevelt Colvin and Mike Vrabel put tremendous pressure on Redskins QB Patrick Ramsey and forced an interception by Eugene Wilson which ended the Washington scoring threat.
Three plays later Tom Brady stepped up and fired a perfect 85-yard bomb to wide receiver David Patten who had beaten his man and caught the pass in stride, finishing with the touchdown to increase New England's lead to 13-0 with 6:43 remaining in the 1st quarter.
The Redskins got on the board later in the 2nd quarter after a 35-yard reception by Coles along with an 11-yard grab by Kenny Watson gave the Redskins 1st-and-goal at the Patriots 6-yard line. On the next play runningback Trung Candidate went in for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 13-7 with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the half.
Both teams traded punts, and New England had the ball with 1:40 remaining in the half and went to their two minute offense. Brady connected with wide receiver Troy Brown for 4-yards, tight end Daniel Graham for 15, and runs by Larry Centers of 6 and 7-yards which had the Patriots at the Washington 23-yard line. But Centers would be called for a "chop block" for a 15-yard penalty, and on the next play Mike Compton was called for offensive holding for 10 more backing them up to the Washington 48 with :10 left in the half. A 9-yard pass to Troy Brown set up a 56-yard field goal attempt by Vinatieri, which sailed wide left as time expired.
New England then got off to a bad start in the second half as rookie Bethel Johnson fumbled the ball twice on the opening kickoff return, with Mike Vrabel recovering the football at the Patriots 4-yard line.
Rohan Davey started the second half on offense and couldn't get much started, going three-and-out. New England then seemingly caught a break when Redskins receiver Patrick Johnson muffed the catch on the punt and Antwan Harris recovered at the Washington 48. But two incompletions and a sack quickly ended the next attempt at a drive and they would half to punt the football.
The Redskins then put together a 16-play 72-yard drive and held the ball for nearly nine minutes, marching all the way down to the 8-yard line before settling for a 27-yard field goal by John Hall to cut the lead to 13-10.
However Johnson would redeem his earlier miscue and took the ensuing kickoff 98-yards for a touchdown, with the 2nd-round draft choice showcasing his speed for New England's final touchdown with 3:16 remaining the the third quarter.
The Redskins would later add a 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for the final points of the night.
The Patriots will now prepare to take on the Eagles next Friday night in Philadelphia.
GAME NOTES Patriots center Damien Woody left the game early in the 1st quarter and didn't return. He was replaced by Dan Koppen. Belichick said after the game Woody was "kicked in the leg" but wouldn't elaborate on the extent of the injury......Adam Vinatieri had a tough night, missing an extra point,a 56 and 45-yard field goal attempt. All three misses sailed wide left...Quarterback Rohan Davey played the entire second half, but finished just 1-of-6 for -3 yards and was sacked twice....Patrick Pass finished the game as New England's leading rusher, with 7-carries for 46-yards and averaged 6.6-yards per carry. Meanwhile Antowain Smith finished with 7-carries for 33-yards and a touchdown.
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