Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady dominate the Bengals for a 35-17 Patriots win

Tom Brady returned to Foxborough on Sunday for the first time since January and picked up right where he left off. The Patriots starter threw three touchdown passes for the second week in a row and the team racked up 437 yards of offense en route to their blowout 35-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Coming off a fine performance against the Cleveland Browns last week, the three-time Super Bowl MVP followed it up with another stellar display, this time against tougher opposition. Here are four things that stood out today.

Nobody seems happier to have Brady back than Rob Gronkowski. He had a career day with seven catches, 167 receiving yards (a career high), and one touchdown. After a slow start to the season because of injuries and the backup quarterback situation, the 6’6 Arizona product looked like his former self. This came two days after Gronkowski missed practice for a stomach bug.

The tight end got into a fair bit of trouble as well, getting called for taunting Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and costing New England 15 yards on an important drive halfway through the fourth quarter. Tensions flared towards the end, but it seemed mostly due to frustration on Cincinnati’s part.

Since coming back from his four-game Deflategate suspension, the 39-year old has looked as silky as ever. This was Brady’s first game back at Gillette Stadium in 273 days, his last coming against Kansas City in the 2016 AFC Divisional Playoffs.

And boy, did he put on a show for the Foxborough faithful. The quarterback had another statistical pièce de résistance, going 29-for-35 for 376 yards and three touchdowns. James White is also fast becoming one of Brady’s favorite targets, with two touchdowns Sunday. The running back looks like the new coming of Shane Vereen.

In his first two games back, Brady has now completed 57 of his 75 passes for 782 yards and six TDs.

Entering the day, the Patriots were one of five teams in the NFL that had given up a score during every defensive red-zone trip, with eight touchdowns and two field goals.

The Bengals took a 14-10 lead on the opening drive in the third quarter, when Malcolm Butler was beaten by former Brady-target Brandon LaFell on third-and-goal. Dont’a Hightower came to the rescue with his second safety in as many games, and that shifted momentum in the Patriots’ favor.

Before that, Cincinnati’s offense had been keeping pace and looked dangerous, to be honest. After that defensive stop, New England went on to score 15 straight points, with Brady going 7 of 8 for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Then, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal effectively put the game out of reach.

With Cleveland next week and this performance behind them, things are looking up. This was quite possibly Cincinnati’s most complete effort this season; the offense was sustaining drives and the defense pressured Brady with good coverage, but with four losses in their past five, they really need to get it together.

Through the first 27 minutes of action of the game, the Bengals’ offense was disciplined, efficiently using short passes and varied formations to create gaps for A.J. Green. The offensive line held up for Andy Dalton, while the defense limited Brady’s options.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, Tom Brady and Co. woke up during that pivotal five-minute stretch in the third, when a couple of errors turned the game on its head.

With this win, the Patriots improve 5-1 and go on to face the Steelers next week, who themselves have had an inconsistent start to the season.

The Bengals, on the other hand, drop to 2-4 with all of their wins coming against teams with losing records. They play the winless Browns next week and should pick up an easy win.