MINNEAPOLIS -- Bill Belichick clearly got everything he could out of that extra day of preparation.

As he studied film of the Minnesota Vikings, a team that was coming off a big road win over defending NFC champion Seattle, the New England coach saw something.

He saw, apparently, that the Vikings secondary wasn't the team's strength.

So he exploited it. Often. And with great success.

In yet another game where the lights were at their brightest, the Patriots handed in a stellar performance, trouncing the Vikings, 31-7. It was the first time this season Minnesota had allowed more than 20 points to an opponent, and New England upped its record to 6-1 going into Sunday night's matchup against the undefeated Colts.

Gaining yards often in large chunks, the Patriots offense was at its best, and showed that the unit believed to be a work in progress might not have that much work to do after all.

Tom Brady had the second-most productive passing game of his career, hitting 29 of 43 passes for 372 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Brady connected with 10 different receivers along the way.

New England didn't need the run. Its runners carried the ball just 15 times, and at least a handful of those came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, when the game was well in hand. The rushing total was 85 yards, giving the Pats an average of 5.7 yards per carry.

In all, the Patriots had 18 offensive plays of 10 yards or more, plus a 77-yard kickoff return by Laurence Maroney and a 70-yard interception return by Ellis Hobbs.

The spread offense "shows things to Tom," said Minnesota coach Brad Childress. "There's a reason he's an All-Pro; he can pick you apart. He got back into the shotgun and knew exactly what he was looking at. He has the ability and he has skilled receivers, and he gets the ball out of his hand pretty quickly."

All that scoring by the offense -- New England was up 7-0 less than four minutes into the game -- let the defense relax and do its job.

"Tom was hitting his receivers. He must have hit every different receiver he had," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "We (the defense) were on the sidelines enjoying the show. Up 17-0 makes it easy to play defense."

The fast start also quieted the Metrodome crowd, which is among the loudest in the NFL.

"It was important to get a fast start; the goal was to quiet them as quickly as possible," said Troy Brown, who had two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown.

Brown needs just two more catches to pass Stanley Morgan as New England's all-time leader in receptions.

For the second week in a row, New England scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game, as Brady took his team 86 yards downfield -- all through the air.

The series started at the 14 after a holding penalty on David Thomas during the opening kickoff. An eight-yard pass to Benjamin Watson over the middle started things, but was followed by an eight-yard rushing loss by Corey Dillon, giving the Patriots third-and-10 at the original line of scrimmage.

Getting all the time he needed from his offensive line -- which was working with a new starter, Billy Yates, because Stephen Neal was out due to an injury -- Brady hit a wide-open Doug Gabriel for a 45-yard gain to get into Minnesota territory, then followed with a 16-yard pass to Gabriel.

That second pass was tipped at the line, but just as he did for his touchdown catch against the Bills last week, Gabriel came back to the ball to make the reception.

A slant to Brown picked up another five yards, and a 14-yard strike over the middle to Watson gave New England first-and-goal at the 6.

Reche Caldwell was left fairly open in the end zone, and Brady found him for the touchdown. It was his first score as a member of the Patriots.

Brady's only miscue of the night came on the Pats' second drive, when he threw downfield to Watson in coverage and was picked off by safety Darren Sharper.

But from that point, it was on like popcorn, as the kids would say.

Rodney Harrison intercepted Brad Johnson at the goal line on the drive that started with Sharper's interception, and New England got a 23-yard chip shot field goal from Stephen Gostkowski to go up, 10-0.

They were up, 17-0, at the half after a touchdown pass to Watson.

When New England's first drive of the second half ended with a punt, Mewelde Moore ran it back 71 yards for the Vikes' only points of the game.

Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson was 20-for-33 for 185 yards and three interceptions, and was pulled in the fourth quarter. His replacement, Brooks Bollinger, was sacked on his first three plays under center.

One of those sacks was by Richard Seymour, who did not start but played significant minutes, his left elbow in a brace and wrapped in black.

At the end of the night, the Pro Bowl defensive lineman was happy to see his team win again, but knew there are still nine games left on the schedule, starting with Sunday -- another marquee matchup under the lights.

"Next week is another big game. It doesn't get any easier," he said.

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