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Brady, Patriots quiet doubters with 43-17 rout

By WTOP Staff

HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The critics pounced after the second-worst loss in Tom Brady’s career.

The New England Patriots just went back to work.

Their focus resulted in a 43-17 rout of the previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals just six days after the Patriots fell apart in a 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We don’t sit around listening to what everybody else says,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We try to do the best we can.”

Brady did well enough in his best game of the season and reached a major milestone.

With a season-high 292 yards passing, he became the sixth player to throw for 50,000 yards. His total of 50,232 left him behind John Elway with 51,475 yards. The top four spots are held by Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Drew Brees.

“I’m a lucky guy,” Brady said. “50,000 yards means, you know, I’ve played in the best place in the league for a long time.

“We always talk about what Patriots football is and I think you saw that tonight.”

The Patriots (3-2) scored on their first two possessions, a 1-yard run by Stevan Ridley and a 17-yard pass from Brady to Tim Wright. They led 20-3 at halftime and extended that lead with the help of three of Stephen Gostkowski’s career-high five field goals.

The Bengals (3-1) gave up 41 points after allowing just 33 all season.

“You are going to face adversity in the season,” Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said. “So you aren’t going to sit around and be psychologists about that. We’ve got to play through anything that happens.”

Just like the Patriots.

“We don’t pay attention to anything outside of here,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said in a happy Patriots locker room. “It just goes to show you we’re capable of doing it.”

Other things we learned as the Patriots snapped out of their season-long offensive slump:

BALANCED PATRIOTS: Brady completed 23 of 35 passes for 292 yards and the Patriots ran 26 times for 220, led by Ridley’s 113 yards. Brady completed passes to eight receivers after spending most of the season focusing on finding Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. On Sunday, Gronkowski led the team with six catches and 100 yards receiving and caught his fourth touchdown pass.

“The offensive line protected, Tom threw great balls — went through his reads,” Wright said, “and the wide receivers ran great routes and he delivered it.”

DALTON’S DOWN DAY: Andy Dalton was sacked for the first time this season. By the time that happened early in the fourth quarter, the Bengals already were behind 37-17. Dalton completed 15 of 24 passes for 204 yards with no interceptions and scoring passes to Mohamed Sanu and A.J. Green. But Cincinnati lost three fumbles, including one that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown return by Kyle Arrington that put the Patriots ahead 34-10.

The Bengals also failed to convert any of their seven third-down plays.

“If you turn the ball over and don’t make any third downs, you have a chance to have this happen to you,” Lewis said.

PERFECT NO MORE: The Bengals failed in their attempt at their first 4-0 start since 2005. At least they were the last unbeaten team in the NFL after the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Denver Broncos 41-20 earlier Sunday.

“It doesn’t surprise me” to lose the perfect record, offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “I know it was possibly going to happen at some point and we are just going to have to respond.”

The last team to go unbeaten in the regular season was the Patriots in 2007. Then they won two playoff games before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

BIG TURNAROUNDS: New England’s 53-point turnaround from its 27-point loss at Kansas City to its 26-point win over Cincinnati was huge. But it was just one point more than another reversal 11 years earlier when the Patriots began the 2003 season with a 31-0 loss in Buffalo. Then they won 31-10 at Philadelphia and went 16-1 the rest of the way, including a 32-29 Super Bowl win against Carolina.

“I think we’ve always done a great job putting losses behind us quickly and trying to move forward,” Brady said. “As disappointing as last Monday night was, this one is great. We all feel great, but we’ve also got to get back to work (Monday) because we’ve got a huge game this week.”

COMING UP: The Patriots next two games are against teams in their weak AFC East. They’re tied for first place with the Bills and visit Buffalo next Sunday. Then they’re home against the hapless New York Jets (1-4), who are in last place in the division. Cincinnati plays its next three games against three teams with 3-2 records — at home against Carolina, at Indianapolis and back home against Baltimore.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.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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