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December 16, 2007

Halftime notes

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Junior Seau celebrates his second-quarter sack of Chad Pennington.

Courtesy of the Patriots' PR department:

PATRIOTS TIE NFL RECORD WITH 21st DIFFERENT PLAYER TO SCORE A TOUCHDOWN
With his first quarter interception return for a touchdown, Eugene Wilson became the 21st different player to score a touchdown for the Patriots this season, tying the all-time NFL record for most players scoring a touchdown in a single season. The Patriots have tied the 2000 Denver Broncos and the 1987 Los Angeles Rams, who also each had 21 players scoring a touchdown.

WILSON SCORES FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN
Eugene Wilson returned an interception five yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The touchdown was the first of Wilson’s 5-year career and came on his 10th career interception. Wilson has become the 30th player in Patriots history to record 10 or more regular-season interceptions with the team and ties Mike Vrabel for the third highest interception total in a New England uniform by an active Patriots player. Of active Patriots, only Asante Samuel (22) and Tedy Bruschi (12) have more interceptions than Wilson in a New England uniform. The interception was Wilson’s first since Nov. 20, 2005. He became the sixth Patriots player to score a defensive touchdown this season, joining Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Randall Gay, Rosevelt Colvin and Adalius Thomas. The interception return for a touchdown was the third for the Patriots this season.

BRADY SETS SINGLE-SEASON CAREER HIGH FOR PASSING YARDS
On a 12-yard completion to Randy Moss in the first quarter, Tom Brady set a new single-season career high for passing yards, topping his total of 4,110 yards in 2005. Following his 12-yard completion to Moss, Brady had 4,117 passing yards for the season. Brady entered today’s game leading the NFL with 4,095 passing yards for the season. Brady’s 2007 yardage total is currently the second highest total in Patriots franchise history, trailing only Drew Bledsoe’s team-record 4,555 passing yards in 1994.

MARONEY SCORES THIRD TOUCHDOWN OF SEASON
Laurence Maroney gave the Patriots a 17-7 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The scoring run was Maroney’s third of the season and was the ninth rushing score of his career. Maroney’s touchdown against the Jets was the 10th overall touchdown of his career, including nine rushing scores and one receiving touchdown.

WASHINGTON BLOCKED PUNT: FIRST FOR PATRIOTS SINCE 1999
Kelley Washington blocked a punt by New York’s Ben Graham in the second quarter, giving the Patriots possession at the Jets’ 3-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney and a 17-7 Patriots lead. The blocked punt was the first for the Patriots Dec. 19, 1999, when Larry Whigham blocked a punt by Philadelphia’s Sean Landeta in a 24-9 loss to the Eagles at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

EVEN STEPHEN
Stephen Gostkowski nailed a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Patriots a 10-0 lead. Following that field goal, Gostkowski was 17-for-20 on the season (85 percent) and 37-for-46 for his regular-season career (80.4 percent). Including his 8-for-8 career playoff mark, Gostkowski was 45-for-54 in his career (83.3 percent) following the kick.

OPPONENT BLOCKED PUNT RETURN FOR TOUCHDOWN: FIRST TIME SINCE 1990
The Jets’ David Bowens blocked a Chris Hanson punt and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, marking the first time a Patriots opponent had returned a blocked punt for a touchdown since Oct. 18, 1990. In that game, Miami’s Mark Higgs returned a blocked punt of New England’s Brian Hansen 19 yards for a touchdown. Prior to today’s game, the last time an opponent blocked a Patriots punt was on Sept. 8, 2005, when Oakland’s Randal Williams blocked a Josh Miller punt.

SEAU RECORDS SECOND SACK OF SEASON
Junior Seau sacked Chad Pennington for an 8-yard loss in the second quarter. The sack was Seau’s second of the season and raised his career total to 55.0 career sacks. Seau’s career sack total ranks fifth among active linebackers.

SEYMOUR/GREEN SPLIT SACK
Richard Seymour and Jarvis Green combined to sack Chad Pennington for a 13-yard loss in the second quarter.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:39 PM to Junior Seau | Permalink