Brandon Meriweather heads to the end zone after intercepting a Josh Johnson pass on the game's opening series.

Journal photo / Stephan Savoia

LONDON — The flashbulbs were popping, the crowd was energized, and the loyalties were split – other than the fact that it was in London, Sunday’s New England Patriots-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game felt a lot like a Super Bowl.

But judging by the end result, there will be no rematch for the Patriots and Bucs in the actual Super Bowl come Feb. 7.

New England handed the “home” Buccaneers their seventh loss in seven games this season, dominating the game from nearly the first snap en route to a 35-7 win that places the Pats at 5-2 heading into their bye week.

The Patriots viewed the overseas trip as a business trip, and the trip was a success.

“It’s a great way to end this week for our football team,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “I thought these guys really put in a good week of preparation; we started on Tuesday and got a lot of work done in Foxboro on Wednesday and Thursday and came out here and made the adjustment. We went out there, played hard, made some plays … and I’m really proud of the guys for that.”

The plays came early for the Pats, as Brandon Meriweather intercepted Tampa Bay starter Josh Johnson’s second pass attempt of the game, stepping in front of intended receiver Sammie Stroughter and racing 35 yards to and through the end zone, not stopping until he reached the base of the stands, shaking a few hands.

“It was a miscommunication by the quarterback and receiver,” Meriweather explained. “I just got down in the spot; he threw it before the receiver looked back.”

Tampa Bay started making progress when it got the ball back, with gains of 11, 19 and 11 yards driving to the Pats’ 33-yard line.

That’s when Meriweather struck again.

This time Johnson looked deep for Michael Clayton and the throw was off. Meriweather tipped the ball up and came down with it, breaking left for a 31-yard return that gave the Patriot offense the ball near midfield.

Perhaps all you need to know about the Bucs’ day offensively is that Meriweather had more yards “receiving” than any Tampa Bay wideout.

Once New England finally got the ball in the hands of Tom Brady, things only got worse for the Buccaneers, though it wasn’t the best performance the Patriots have had this season.

Their first drive didn’t net much, but on the second, Brady found Randy Moss (5 catches, 69 yards) for a 37-yard gain that set up a Wes Welker score. Welker caught the slip screen and rode his blockers 14 yards to the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the season.

Already missing Julian Edelman (broken arm) and having cut their losses with Joey Galloway, the Pats came into the game with Sam Aiken and rookie Brandon Tate – playing his first game in more than a year – as their top options as a third receiver, so the Patriots were going to count on Moss and Welker more than usual.

And after two hits to Moss’ left shoulder, the second of which essentially knocked him out of the game, Welker needed to bear the burden.

He wound up going 10-for-10 — 10 times targeted, 10 catches — for 107 yards and the touchdown.

“He does everything right out there,” Brady said. “He’s always at the right spot. He gets open versus any coverage on any route. He and Randy, and the way ‘Aik’ (Sam Aiken) played today, they all stepped up and made some great plays. We needed it.”

The Patriots went up 21-0 in the second quarter, starting yet another drive near the 50; first and second down gained nothing. Brady was flushed out of the pocket on third down, then hit Aiken on a crossing route. Buccaneers’ leading tackler, Barrett Ruud, whiffed when he tried to bring Aiken down, and the special-teams captain, who signed a contract extension this week, turned on another gear, racing into the end zone for the first time in his seven-year career.

Coming off a 100-yard game against Tennessee last week, Laurence Maroney said he wasn’t going to get too high, that he needed to be consistent, but on Sunday he did not build off that performance. Tampa Bay came into the game allowing more than 170 yards rushing per game, worst in the NFL, and Maroney had 43 yards rushing on 13 carries. Of course, given the play of the offensive line, it may not have all been his fault.

Maroney did have a fourth-quarter touchdown.

New England heads home Monday, and the players will get a few days off to recuperate before returning to work for a few days of tune up and then preparations for the Dolphins.

It was a little different road trip, but the end result was a familiar one.

smanza@projo.com