EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - When Asante Samuel saw what Ellis Hobbs was going to attempt, he shouted, "No! No! No!" But those shouts quickly turned to "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" when the cornerback/kick returner picked up a head of steam and started eating up chunks of yardage.

What Hobbs did was field the ball eight yards into the end zone and take the ball all the way to the other end of the field, a 108-yard kickoff return touchdown that ties the NFL record for longest play ever.

It was both a team record and league record for longest kickoff return score.

The previous record for longest kickoff return was 106 yards, achieved by three players. The last to do so was St. Louis' Roy Green in 1979.

Two other players had plays of 108 yards, as both Nathan Vasher and Devin Hester of Chicago have returned missed field goal returns for touchdowns. Vasher's was in 2005, and Hester's was last year.

Hobbs had a 93-yard return touchdown last year against Houston.

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As electrifying as Hobbs was, Randy Moss wasn't too bad either.

In his Patriots' debut, the 10th year wideout had both his third-best day as a pro and the third-best receiving day in team history.

With nine catches for 183 yards, Moss trails only Terry Glenn for the best single-game performance in team history. Glenn had a 13-catch, 214-yard game in Cleveland in 1999, and a 193-yard effort in Pittsburgh in 1998.

Moss' best game was in Chicago, in November 1999, when he was a member of the Vikings. He had nine grabs for 204 yards.

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New England's first possession of the season was a 12-play, 91 yard touchdown drive. It marked the first time since 1997 that the Patriots scored on their first offensive possession of the season.

On Aug. 31, 1997, against San Diego in the old Foxboro Stadium, the Pats got the opening kickoff and went 73 yards, the drive culminating in a four-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe to Ben Coates.

Yesterday was the first time New England opened the year with a touchdown on the road since 1989, a Tony Eason-to-Irving Fryar 20-yard pass in this same stadium against the Giants.

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Tom Brady is 11-2 as a starter against the Jets. In those games, he is 268-for-414 (64.7 completion percentage) for 2,912 yards with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

On Sunday, Brady was 22-for-28 for 297 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That equates to a passer rating of 146.6, one of the best of his career. A rating of 148.3 in Indianapolis in October 2001 marked his top effort.

The Patriots are 34-1 when Brady's rating is over 100.

His completion percentage of 78.6 was his fourth-best; against Buffalo, in November 2002, Brady completed 84.6 percent of his passes.

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The gorgeous 51-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Moss was the 150th touchdown pass of Brady's career and the 102nd scoring reception of Moss' career.

Brady joins Bledsoe (166) and Steve Grogan (182) as the only Patriots' QBs with 150 or more TD passes.

Moss has 20 touchdowns of 50 or more yards.

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Bill Belichick got his 125th regular-season win as a head coach. He is one of four active coaches with at least that many victories. Washington's Joe Gibbs (163), Seattle's Mike Holmgren (160) and Denver's Mike Shanahan (140) are the others.

The most successful coach in New England history, Belichick is 88-39 with the Patriots (.693).

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Brady upped his mark on artificial turf to 22-1 in the regular season; 54-2 when leading at halftime; 59-1 when leading after three quarters; and 5-1 as the opening day starter.

He has started 109 consecutive games.

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Chad Pennington moved up on some of the Jets' lists on Sunday: he eclipsed 12,000 career passing yards, fifth all-time; and his 1,094th completion in the third quarter put him past Vinny Testaverde for fourth place.

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The game inactives for yesterday were:

For New England: Matt Gutierrez (3QB), TE David Thomas, S Rashad Baker, LB David Herron, T Wesley Britt, G Billy Yates, DL Kareem Brown, DL Mike Wright.

For New York: Marques Tuiasosopo (3QB), CB Andre Dyson, S Eric Smith, FB Darian Barnes, DE Mike DeVito, OL Jacob Bender, TE Jason Pociask, WR Chansi Stuckey.