FOXBORO - Sometimes it's good not to follow your own advice.

Randy Moss had one of those moments yesterday, and it turned out to be one of the most important plays of the game.

When he jogged to the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 11 with the Patriots backed up inside their 1-yard line, he was supposed to run a crossing route through the middle of the field, where backup quarterback Matt Cassel was going to try to get him the ball.

But when the ball was snapped and Moss read the defense, he decided to cut his inside route short and sprint by Kansas City defensive backs Patrick Surtain and Jon McGraw up the right sideline.

Fortunately for Moss and the Patriots, Cassel saw what Moss was doing, adjusted his throwing stance in the end zone, and released a perfectly thrown ball over Moss' left shoulder, hitting him in stride.

The play was a 51-yard throw and catch, and the Patriots were out of a tough predicament. It was the longest passing play of Cassel's career.

Moss indicated that it might not have been wise for him to change his route as the play was developing, but in the end it turned out to be the right move.

"Well, it was actually a play designed to get us deep into Kansas City territory," said Moss, who finished the game with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. "When I came off the ball I saw the corner and the safety squat, meaning their feet were flat-footed, so I just thought I would try to make a play. I cut my route off and just went deep. The offense just executed.

"I think in this game when you have 11 guys on the same page, good things happen. When you have one of those 11 not on the same page with everybody else, then bad things will happen."

"I cut my route off because [the defensive backs] were in the vicinity where I was supposed to break to catch the ball," Moss said. "It was an adjustment that I made and … [Cassel] saw the adjustment."

Cassel said, "It was a play-action pass. We had run a few balls and we were backed up. Randy made a great move to get on top of the guy and I just tried to put it in the vicinity. He did a great job of coming down with the ball."

Patriots receiver Wes Welker was impressed with the play.

"That was a great play by [Cassel] and Randy," Welker said. "He threw it right on the money and Randy ran a great route. That was a big play for us and really got us started. We were able to finish from there."

The play put Moss over 100 yards for the game, marking the 56th time he has had a 100-yard game. That ranks third in NFL history, trailing only Jerry Rice (76) and Marvin Harrison (59).

It also moved Moss past Jimmy Smith for 13th on the NFL's all-time receiving yards list, with 13,014 yards.

Seven plays later, Cassel threw a high, wobbly pass to Moss in the back of the end zone. Moss went up and caught it for his 126th career touchdown, tying him with Jim Brown for eighth on the NFL's all-time touchdown list. It was his 125th receiving touchdown, ranking fourth on the NFL all-time list. He scored a touchdown on a punt return in 1999, when he was with the Minnesota Vikings.

"It was a good game even though there were bumps in the road, but every team has that," Moss said. "I think that a lot of people are really spoiled from last year by just being able to see our offense move up and down the field. It is not going to be like that every week. Some weeks you are going to move the ball and some weeks you are going to struggle. Today was a heads-up victory from all sides -- special teams, defense and offense -- we pulled together."