Clear reception by Moss</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <span class="articleBegin">F</span>OXBORO — Wonder Twins powers. . . . reactivate.</p> Form of: the two best players in the NFL. Super Friends Tom Brady and Randy Moss once again looked like superheroes yesterday, and the Patriots breathed new life into their perfect season as a result.</p> After two straight uneven performances in which the Pats were taken down to the wire by mediocre Eagles and Ravens teams and Moss was ridden out of the flow of the offense, the Patriots re-established their level of play against Pittsburgh. Exuding confidence out of every pore, the Pats posted a 34-13 win, and in so doing, Brady and Moss sent an unmistakable message to future opponents:</p> The weather may be worse and the coverage may be tighter, but when No. 81 is on the field, you better be backpedaling. It says here Moss’ sevencatch, 135-yard, two-touchdown performance was his most important of the season.</p> During the previous two weeks, as the wind picked up and the press coverage increased, the Patriots offense wasn’t quite the same. The ‘‘blueprint’’ was out, and it simply read: Beat up Moss.</p> After catching nine balls combined against the Eagles and Ravens, opponents started to feel confident in their ability to muscle the Pats superstar, to the point where Steelers safety Tyrone Carter said last week, ‘‘I know he doesn’t like to get hit, man. I think that rattles him a little bit.’’</p> It was becoming increasingly clear that, at some point, Moss would have to hit back or risk being ground into the turf.</p> Yesterday, he finally responded.</p> ‘‘What defensive coordinators throw at me is what they throw at me,’’ Moss said. ‘‘I’ve seen it my whole career. Sometimes it is frustrating to get bumped and then once you get up to another level, you’re still going to get bumped. My main thing is just to try to stay focused and go with what I have to do week to week to help the team move the ball.’’</p> Moss set the tone early when he skied over cornerback Ike Taylor to pick up a key first down on the Pats’ second possession. He scored on a 4-yard touchdown catch six plays later. Moss then collected a 63-yard touchdown reception when the entire Steelers secondary bit on a play-action fake by Brady early in the second quarter. And he even added an assist (if such an NFLstat existed) when he threw back to Brady on a third-quarter flea flicker that resulted in a 56-yard touchdown catch by Jabar Gaffney.</p> When the dust settled, Moss had set the Pats’ single season TD record (19, two ahead of Curtis Martin) and had closed to within three TD catches of Jerry Rice for the single-season NFL record.</p> Moss said he tries to ignore the records and the stats but that his ‘‘phone rings and the text messages come across’’ from family and friends, so it’s impossible to be oblivious.</p> ‘‘But one thing I really do is try to stay in straight tunnel vision,’’ he said. ‘‘Try to stay humble. Try to eat some of coach Belichick’s humble pie, just follow the road and keep going every week.’’</p> Moss dropped what should have been a third score in the fourth quarter, but by then, the damage was done.</p> The Steelers laid the hammer to Moss, and he fought through it. He was a playmaker again despite the attention. The performance was so strong that it made the question superfluous, but I asked it anyway: Did Moss prove he can thrive against tight, physical coverage?</p> ‘‘I’m a 10-year vet,’’ Moss said. ‘‘You answer that question.’’ Coach Bill Belichick also treated questions of the renewed Brady-to-Moss combination with typical dismissiveness.</p> <div class="articleFull" id="articleFull"> ‘‘Doing all year,’’ he shrugged. ‘‘Good quarterback. Good receiver.’’</p> To say the least. With Moss doing his thing, Brady once again had a statistical day in the stratosphere (399 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, 125.2 passer rating). He’s back on pace to set NFL records for touchdown passes, completion percentage and passer rating.</p> And, oh yeah, the Pats’ perfect season remains firmly on track.</p> </div> </div></p>
