During the first seven weeks of the season, time and again the critics doubted the New England Patriots' passing game.

After all, Tom Brady has an almost entirely new group of receivers, and though there were doubts, the quarterback kept saying everything was going to be fine.

Slowly it has come around, capped by last night's offensive explosion.

He took the team on his back, and his shoulder, helping the Pats pound the Vikings into submisson en route to 31-7 victory and a 6-1 record.

Brady completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards, including a pair of touchdowns in the first half as he connected with eight different receivers. The second half was much of the same. He finished with 372 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Patriots both wanted and needed to score first last night and they did just that.

Brady, looking extremely confident, needed just seven plays and 3:53 to score. New England wide receiver Reche Caldwell, who connected with Brady on a TD pass, said after last week's game in Buffalo the receivers felt a lot more comfortable, knowing Brady had the confidence to throw to them.

It all came together last night.

"We had a good week of practice," Brady told ESPN after the game. "We knew we were facing a tough defense, so we wanted to get the ball in the air. Our receivers made a lot of great plays."

It's only going to get more interesting for New England. Brady will go toe-to-toe with conference rivals the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning (who had 345 yards and 3 touchdowns against Denver) Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

jmcdonal@projo.com / (401) 277-7340