Lithonia Team of the Week:

Some of us had the P-men dead and buried after a terrible offensive performance against Denver. But we can all put away the shovels.

There’s still life in the Patriots, and their emphatic 38–13 road rout of Cincinnati’s media darlings showed that New England is a legitimate threat to win another Super Bowl.

“Kind of like the Patriots you guys were used to seeing,” quarterback Tom Brady observed afterwards.

That they were, even without their starting right tackle, free safety and best cover corner. Even after playing six straight unimpressive quarters of football.

Of course, we should have seen this coming; New England hasn’t lost consecutive games since December 2002, a streak of 53 games, second-longest in the NFL since 1970.

Despite the injuries, the Patriots dominated both sides of the ball, running at will, repeatedly pressuring Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and generally playing with the confidence and swagger of a contender.

“Yes, this is a statement game for us,” said safety Rodney Harrison. “It felt good to come in here and play Patriots football. This is what I’m used to around here.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Brady wasn’t the centerpiece of the New England attack, although he did spread the ball around efficiently, throwing for 188 yards and two scores. But the emergence of rookie Laurence Maroney is what has Patriot fans truly energized.

A week after Denver’s defense held him to 18 yards, Maroney ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on only 18 carries, restoring the balance that had been missing from New England’s offense. After a pair of Cincinnati field goals, Maroney’s 11-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter gave the Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. Maroney joined veteran Corey Dillon in consistently moving the chains and tormenting the Bengals’ proud defense. On the day, New England amassed 236 yards on the ground and 424 total yards in posting its highest point total in two seasons.

And let’s not neglect the New England defense. The Patriots sacked Palmer four times and hit him repeatedly, holding him without a touchdown pass and generally forcing him into his worst showing of the season.

“It’s tough to say after a loss like this, but hopefully well be able to look back in a month or two and say we needed this,” Palmer said. “I don’t know if we were too cocky or too confident, but I know this is a team that we should’ve beat. Hopefully, well get another shot at them. I know if we play our best football, we can beat them.”

After a day when the Patriots showed what they can do when they play their best football, Palmer should be careful what he wishes for.