---

MINNEAPOLIS - It may be time to start believing that the Patriots will be playing football deep into January or beyond.

Tom Brady has seemingly whipped his "new" receiving corps into shape, and the results became plainly evident to the nation Monday night as he led the Patriots to an unexpected 31-7 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Brady was, in a word, immense. He completed 29 passes of 43 attempts for 372 yards and four touchdowns on the national stage of Monday Night Football, involving 10 different offensive players in his passing party and matching his second-best passing performance of all time in the process.

The receiving ledger was impressive, indeed - Ben Watson had seven catches for 95 yards, Reche Caldwell seven for 84, Doug Gabriel five for 83, Laurence Maroney two for 33, Corey Dillon one for 27, Troy Brown two for 12, Kevin Faulk two for 12, Dave Thomas one for 12, Chad Jackson one for 10 and Jabar Gaffney one for four.

The victory improved the Patriots' record to 6-1 as they enter Sunday night's nationally televised showdown with the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts, the 8:15 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football showcase that could serve as a preview of this year's AFC Championship Game if the Patriots continue their steady improvement. Playing in an enclosed stadium such as the Metrodome is never easy, especially since the 4-3 Vikings were home on MNF for the first time in five years and were looking to validate their status as a playoff contender.

But hoping to silence the boisterous Metrodome crowd, Brady rapidly moved the Patriots' downfield on their first possession. A 45-yard completion to Gabriel to get the Patriots out of a third-and-10 hole and into Minnesota territory instantly struck fear into the hearts of the rowdy home crowd.

Gabriel also caught a deflected pass on the next play for 16 more yards, and Brady, working mainly out of shotgun formation, quickly found Brown for 5, Watson for 13 and Caldwell by himself on the right side of the end zone, leaving Antoine Winfield in his dust, for a 7-0 lead just 3:53 into the game.

The Vikings were held off the scoreboard on their first possession, marking the first time this year that has happened. But a holding penalty on the punt return put the Patriots back at their own 10, and on third-and-4, Brady hung onto the ball too long and unwisely tried to fire to a well-covered Watson on the sideline, where Darren Sharper picked it off.

Vikings' QB Brad Johnson gave that one back, however, when he inexplicably threw a pass between the "3" and "7" on Rodney Harrison's chest in the end zone. The interception (one of four by the Patriots) ended a 12-play possession that started at the New England 45 because of a strong kickoff return by ex-Patriot Bethel Johnson, who added two receptions.

Harrison's pick gave the ball to the Patriots at their own 2, and Brady completed passes of 9 yards to Gabriel, 40 to Watson, and 21 to Maroney on a screen, followed by a 15-yard gallop by Dillon to reach the Vikings' 9.

After a defensive holding call created a first down at the 5, things sputtered quickly. Maroney was stopped for no gain and Brady threw two incompletions - missing Caldwell alone in the end zone - before settling for a 23-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski with 12:09 left in the second quarter.

Things quieted down for a while, but the Patriots got the ball at their own 26 with 4:22 left and started to make things happed quickly. On third-and-12, Brady's play-action flip to Caldwell turned into a 34-yard gain, and Maroney bounced outside to turn a short gain into a 22-yarder for a first down at the 20.

Brady went to Caldwell again to reach the 8, and even though Heath Evans was called for a hold to negate a run by Maroney inside the 3, Brady made up the lost ground when he found Watson all alone on the right side of the field with 25 seconds left, an 8-yard scoring pass to give New England a 17-0 lead at the break.

The Vikings finally made the scoreboard when Mewelde Moore broke a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown with 10:36 left in the third quarter, breaking to the right sideline after eluding three tacklers in traffic and Evans and Miller as the last resorts around the 25. It was the second-longest in Monday Night Football history. But almost immediately, Maroney broke a 77-yard kick return to give the Patriots possession at the Minnesota 21. Brady threw to Caldwell and Watson to set up a 7-yard touchdown throw to Brown with 9:03 left in the third quarter - a stunning turn of events that silenced the 63,819 fans inside the domed home of the Vikings.

The Patriots nearly put another one on the board inside the three-minute mark of the third quarter, but Caldwell had the ball stripped away by Fred Smoot on a reception near the goal line, and Dwight Smith recovered to give Minnesota a temporary reprieve.

Taking over at his own 39 following the Vikings' punt and Kevin Faulk's 29-yard return, Brady caught a break on second-and-10 with an illegal contact penalty that resulted in an automatic first down. Faulk then ran an inside handoff for 11 yards, and Brady pump-faked and dumped off to Maroney, who turned his crossing pattern into a 13-yard gain to the 10.

On the next play, Brady fired left to Jackson, the rookie from Florida, and he showed extraordinary balance in staying in motion, using his right arm to keep from going down and almost willing himself into the end zone for a 31-7 lead with five seconds left in the quarter.

Mike Vrabel added an interception with 14:22 left in the game, sending thousands of Minnesotans streaming to the exits.

Indeed, Johnson (20-33, 185 yards) was one of them. Minnesota coach Brad Childress replaced him with Brooks Bollinger with 12:02 left in the game, most likely to keep the 38-year-old starter safe from harm once the game became a blowout. That proved wise as Jarvis Green and Tully Banta-Cain blasted in on Bollinger for a 9-yard sack on his first play, and Banta-Cain dropped him on the second for 9 more yards. Richard Seymour, who did not start because of his hyperextended left elbow, made it three-for-three with a 3-yard sack on the third play from scrimmage for the ex-Jet backup.

Ellis Hobbs thwarted a late Viking drive with an interception and a 70-yard return.

Maroney put on a good show for his former collegiate fans, as the former Minnesota Golden Gopher carried eight times for 34 yards and had two kickoff returns for a 45.5-yard average, including the one that put the dagger into the Vikings' hearts.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com