OAKLAND -- It was basically ugly from the outset.

Ugly gray skies over Oakland Coliseum, which itself is fairly unattractive, that eventually gave way to a steady rain that turned the middle of the grass field into an ugly mess.

And then the game started, and things got even uglier.

At least if you are an Oakland Raiders fan.

The New England Patriots scored the first five times they had the ball, held the Oakland Raiders without a first down on their first three possessions, and cruised to a 49-26 victory that allowed them to keep pace with Miami and the Jets in the AFC East.

"This was a good win for our football team," Bill Belichick said. "We talked about how important it was to get off to a fast start, and we did from the opening kickoff."

New England got contributions in all facets of the game, but perhaps most important was the one from Matt Cassel. The quarterback learned on Tuesday morning that his father, 57-year-old Greg Cassel, had died the night before. Matt Cassel was not with New England on Wednesday, but participated in practice and preparations on Thursday and Friday, and Sunday was a very solid 18 for 30 for 218 yards, four touchdowns and one interception that was as much Benjamin Watson's fault as it was Cassel's.

After his first touchdown pass, on a seven-yard completion to Kevin Faulk, Cassel pointed to the sky, then ran to the end zone to be with his teammates.

It was not the last time Cassel would be able to smile on the field Sunday.

New England began its first two drives in Raiders territory; the second began at the 35-yard line, and a 15-yard run by Sammy Morris got the possession off to a good start. On second down, Cassel found Randy Moss. Former Patriot Rashad Baker was late with the coverage, and Moss crossed the goal line on the far left side of the end zone.

The wideout, whose time in Oakland was anything but pretty, threw the ball in the air, turned his back to the Black Hole section of fans, and pointed to the name on the back of his jersey.

Lest they forget, he did it again when he scored in the third quarter.

Belichick credited Moss and LaMont Jordan, who also spent a few not-so-great seasons in Oakland, with playing big roles in helping New England prepare for the game.

"They're familiar with this team, the players, their tendencies," he said. "We haven't played them in a few years, so it was helpful. They gave us insight into their strengths and weaknesses."

Moss in particular may have offered quite a bit about cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The most talented player on the Raiders' team, Asomugha did shadow Moss quite a bit, but the results were not so favorable, especially since he was flagged three times for holding on Moss.

Where pass coverage has been the strength of the Raiders this season, run defense certainly was not, and New England was able to take full advantage. With Sammy Morris and Jordan both healthy for the first time in two months, the Patriots racked up a season-high 277 rushing yards, their highest total in more than 20 years.

Morris (14 carries, 117 yards, touchdown), Jordan (12 carries, 97 yards, touchdown) and Kevin Faulk (6 carries, 45 yards) each averaged more than 7.5 yards per carry.

"We had to get off to a fast start as well as be consistent," Faulk said. "[It was key] for both sides to get off to a fast start, because both sides feed off one another."

As the New England offense racked up touchdowns, the defense picked up stops. Oakland finally converted on third and one on its fourth possession, drawing a huge cheer from the sparse crowd; one play later, the Raiders had their first touchdown.

"They did a nice job in max-protect on that one," New England defensive coordinator Dean Pees said of Johnnie Lee Higgins' 58-yard catch-and-run. "We usually don't blitz on first down, but we did that time; Ellis [Hobbs] slipped on the field, and that was the story."

There was no slipping from Hobbs a short time later, when he answered a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown from Justin Miller -- which put the score at 28-14 and gave the Raiders a ray of hope -- with a 95-yard return touchdown of his own. Hobbs got the ball at the five, and a gaping hole opened up on the right side of the field.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who is 55 pounds heavier than Hobbs, made a weak attempt to push him out of bounds near the Raider 40, but Hobbs tiptoed up the sideline for his third career return score.

With the Jets getting a gift from the Bills and Miami pulling out a close one against the 49ers, the Patriots got no favors in the division race, but they are not poring over the standings looking for scenarios.

"We don't look at other guys' records saying, 'If they do this, then they do this…,'" Vince Wilfork said. "If you win, things will take care of themselves. We have to take care of business. This is the time to put our best foot forward; we've been here before."

This is New England's playoffs, as Wilfork noted. One loss, and the Pats are done. So they'll take ugly, as long as it's an ugly victory.

smanza@projo.com