Patriots vs. Vikings: Randy Moss Returns To New England, Leaves With a Loss

Nearly a month ago, the New England Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings. This Sunday was Moss's first return back to New England, and he left with a 28-18 loss.

Moss's return back to New England was overshadowed by, of course, quarterback Brett Favre. 

Favre had received two fractures in his left ankle last Sunday, and there was speculation if Favre would start against New England. 

He did start, and continued his NFL record streak of 292 consecutive games started, but he would not finish the game. 

With under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Favre and the Vikings were on New England's doorstep, about to score, when defensive linemen Myron Pryor completely flattered Favre, knocking him out of the game. 

It was a clean hit, Pryor's helmet hit Favre in the chest, but then it slipped up and smacked him right in the chin. 

Favre was charted off the field in pain and reportedly received 10 stitches in the chin. 

At the end of the game, quarterback Tom Brady spoke with the media and said "I hope Favre's OK."

Brady was impressive Sunday. 

He completed 16 of his 27 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown to Brandon Tate. He threw his longest pass of the season on the play in which Tate scored.

Brady was flushed out of the pocket, and rolled to his left. He spun, avoiding a tackler, and then threw it deep to Tate, who was running along the sidelines. Tate, who is so dangerous in the open field, made a man miss and sprinted into the end zone for a score. 

"That's a pretty basic scramble situation," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said about the big play. "It really was not a very well-run play. But (we) made the best of a bad situation."

With the win, the New England Patriots improve to 6-1 and have the best record in the NFL.

This article was first seen on Sports Haze.

Tony Santorsa is Sports Haze's AFC East Beat Writer. You can read more sports stories at www.SportsHaze.com. You can also follow Tony via Twitter @TonySantorsa.