FOXBORO - For one week, followers of the New England Patriots can't complain that the NFL, or at least its referee Scott Green and the officiating crew working Sunday's game against St. Louis, have a bias against the club.

Because for the first time in 731 games for the franchise, the Pats didn't have a single accepted penalty called against them.

Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there have been only 50 games in which one team was flag-free for 60 minutes.

New England came into the game as one of the least-penalized teams in the league, but on Sunday, the Patriots outdid themselves.

"I haven't been involved in a lot of no-penalty games," Bill Belichick said with a chuckle during his weekly appearance on radio station WEEI yesterday. "We talk every week about playing penalty-free that's the goal every week. Last week against Denver, we had the ones on defense, but we had none on offense or special teams. The players are doing a good job of not getting those 'silly' penalties."

The Pats have now been flagged 22 times over seven games; Houston went into its game with the Bengals with just 16, but was penalized seven times against Cincinnati, meaning New England now has the fewest penalties in the NFL.

Last year, the Pats were penalized 78 times in the regular season, which averages out to just less than five per game.

Not only does a clean game make for a happy coach, but it also helps the Patriots' cause, often in tangible ways.

"I think big plays and penalties on offense, they kill drives, and penalties on defense, they keep the drive going," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "When you don't do that, you tend to get off the field a little more on third down, and by not having penalties on offense, you continue to convert on third down."

New England had to look no further than the players lined up opposite them on Sunday to see how penalties can hurt.

On the opening kickoff, Rams returner Dante Hall had a 75-yard return negated by a holding penalty on one of his teammates. Instead of St. Louis starting its opening drive on the Pats' 24, it began on its own 32.

Later in the first half, the Rams had gotten well into field-goal range when a holding penalty on offensive lineman Jacob Bell pushed them back 10 yards; Adalius Thomas dropped Marc Bulger for a 13-yard loss on first-and-20, and St. Louis was out of field-goal range.

One last flag - St. Louis had nine in all, totaling 63 yards - may have helped end the team's final drive. On third-and-10 from the New England 33, guard Richie Incognito was wishing he was incognito; whistled for a false start, the Rams were now facing third-and-15. Bulger's downfield pass attempt ended up in Deltha O'Neal's arms, effectively sealing the game for the Patriots.

"It's big," not to have any penalties, Thomas said. "It doesn't give them free plays, like jumping offsides and holding [can]. Those are hidden yardage. If you give them a chance to come back and do [a play] over, or just a five-yard flag can give them a chance for a first down.

"Penalties are overlooked a lot, but not here."

Thomas said Belichick praised the players for the accomplishment in the film room yesterday, but there's no word yet if no flags means the Pats will get more than a pat on the back.

Surely a practice without pads would be a welcome reward.

smanza@projo.com