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Late interception clinches Patriots’ 16-9 win

By WTOP Staff

HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Coach Bill Belichick questioned a defensive pass interference penalty against his Patriots.

Raiders coach Dennis Allen didn’t agree with a holding penalty that nullified a potential tying touchdown on the next play.

There was no doubt about the play that followed — an interception by 325-pound defensive tackle Vince Wilfork that ended Oakland’s last chance with 51 seconds left and gave New England the ball at its 11-yard line.

All Tom Brady had to do was kneel down three times and throw an incompletion before time ran out on the heavily favored Patriots’ 16-9 win on Sunday.

“Sometimes you’ve got to grind them out,” New England wide receiver Julian Edelman said after catching 10 passes. “An ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”

This one was supposed to be easy.

The Patriots (2-1) were coming off a 30-7 win at Minnesota and had won 11 of their previous 12 home openers. The Raiders (0-3) lost their previous game to Houston 34-14 and had lost 14 straight games in the Eastern time zone.

But Oakland led 3-0 on the first of Sebastian Janikowski’s three field goals, a 49-yarder in the first quarter, before New England took a 10-3 lead at halftime on Tom Brady’s 6-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski with 4:41 left and Stephen Gostkowski’s 21-yard field goal on the last play, the first of his three.

“We had some opportunities there to score more points,” Brady said. “There are some teams that are playing really well already. We’re not really doing that offensively yet.”

The Patriots have just three offensive touchdowns in their last 10 quarters. The Raiders have only four all season.

But both teams were pleased with their defense.

“We started fast on defense and we just got into a rhythm,” Oakland defensive end Justin Tuck said. “We had a good chance to beat a good team on the road and it didn’t happen.”

New England held Oakland to 241 yards, but that wasn’t the most important number to Belichick.

“The big thing defensively is we gave up nine points,” he said. “The rest of those stats, really, you can do whatever you want with them. They don’t really mean much.”

Here are other key points in the Patriots’ win:

ONLY TOUCHDOWN: Gronkowski’s catch was the only touchdown despite New England getting inside the 10-yard line three times and Oakland getting inside the 30 three times.

“We did just enough to get the victory,” Gronkowski said. “Sometimes it’s frustrating, but what we did today is not always going to get the job done.”

One play after defensive pass interference was called against Logan Ryan at the Patriots 6-yard line, Darren McFadden would have scored if holding wasn’t called against left guard Gabe Jackson.

“When I turned around and everybody wasn’t coming to celebrate with me, I knew something wasn’t right,” McFadden said.

HAPPY HOME: Brady added to his impressive record at home. In his last 62 games at Gillette Stadium, including the playoffs, he is 57-5. After a Monday night game at Kansas City, he should get a chance to add to that against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 5.

Maybe his offense will be rolling by then.

“We’ve always gotten better as the season has gone on and, as players, gained more experience,” Brady said. “Right now, we’re building our team.”

Brady completed 24 of 37 passes for 234 yards and has a mediocre 82.9 passer rating this season with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.

CARR STILL WINLESS: Rookie quarterback Derek Carr is winless after three games with the Raiders. The second-round draft pick completed 21 of 34 passes for 174 yards and one interception.

“We put ourselves in a position to win in a tough place against a Super Bowl-type team,” Carr said. “I just wanted to come back in that locker room and see the smiles on my teammates’ faces.”

ACROSS THE POND: After the game, the Raiders headed straight to London for next Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. “I was looking forward to it being after a win,” safety Charles Woodson said. “It’s a great opportunity to represent the NFL, but it’s a business trip.”

The Raiders began their season with a trip from the West Coast to face the Jets in New York, then flew back home to face the Houston Texans before flying east again to face New England.

INJURY REPORT: Patriots defensive tackle Sealver Siliga didn’t return after hurting his foot in the first quarter. The team provided no update. Allen said Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater and safety Tyvon Branch each left the game with a broken foot.

___

AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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