Moss-Welker-Stallworth lead Pats; NFL-wide notes

Randy Moss caught nine passes for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Colts. John Biever/SI

MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

NEW YORK -- I'll get to the best game a back ever had, to Saints alive, to the once-fraudulent Lions and to the Super Bowl-bound Browns here in a page or two. But let's begin with this week's Game of the Century, which actually turned out to be everything we all wrote it would be. And more.

Three observations on Pats 24, Colts 20:

New England's offseason won this game. Of the 13 biggest offensive plays for New England -- the plays that would decide the outcome in the wildly noisy RCA Dome -- 12 of them were handled by the three new Patriots receivers.

It's amazing, and I do not use that word lightly, that New England got Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick on draft day from Oakland. He's the best receiver in football right now, the most dangerous deep threat and a player blessed with the ability to catch a ball one-handed better than anyone I've ever seen. The Raiders were desperately trying to peddle Moss to the Packers in April, and fruitlessly tried to get a deal with Green Bay hours before dealing him to New England. (The Packers shied away, fearing how disruptive Moss could be because of his recent history with Minnesota and Oakland.)

It's surprising the Pats were able to filch Wes Welker for second- and seventh-round picks from Miami, after the Dolphins stupidly failed to put a first-round tender offer on the restricted free agent. Welker led the Dolphins in the rare trifecta of receptions, punt returns and kickoff returns last year. The Pats gave Welker an offer sheet, and Miami awkwardly tried to save face on the deal by taking a final-round pick from New England.

And the market for free-agent Donte' Stallworth was thin with teams fearing his off-the-field problems.

New England swooped in and got them all -- for the remarkably manageable 2007 cap total of $8.4 million. Imagine getting an all-star receiving corps for eight percent of your overall cap. That's what VP of player personnel Scott Pioli and coach Bill Belichick did, and in the fourth quarter of the biggest game this year, those three players beat the defending Super Bowl champs.

With just under 10 minutes to play, Indy took a 20-10 lead.

Play 1: Welker returned Adam Vinatieri's kickoff 26 yards to the New England 27.

Plays 2 through 7: Tom Brady threw to Moss on six straight dropbacks. It looked like the only other player on the field was Moss. Brady would drop back, look around, then zoom in on the angular one. Incomplete to the left, complete for 15 over the middle, incomplete on a short incut, then deep down the left hash for 55 yards to the Colts' 3, then incomplete in the left side of the end zone (when offensive pass interference was called on Moss), then incomplete to Moss. Second-and-goal from the Colts' 13.

Play 8: Brady dumped it over the middle to Welker. Gain of 10. Third-and-goal from the 3. Eight minutes left. Huge play coming up. You don't want to settle for the field goal this deep in Indy territory. You want seven.

1 of 9