"The clouds never entirely lifted on a dreary, wet day.

But amid the gray and the rain was a glimmer of light reflecting off the soggy turf at Gillette Stadium.

Faced with early criticism in this young season, with the quarterback fending off more questions than he has in years, the Patriots [team stats] answered in emphatic, straight-forward fashion.

They drummed the Falcons, 26-10, yesterday, using a physical running attack to build the lead, and then watching Tom Brady [stats] close it out with a 36-yard touchdown strike to Chris Baker.

It was not perfect. And it may not erase the memory of the stinging loss to the Jets.

But the wisdom comes in the same grizzled fashion as Fred Taylor [stats] piled up 105 yards for an offense that gained 445 yards and controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

"It may be an old thing, but winning solves everything," veteran Kevin Faulk [stats] said. "It's always good correcting your mistakes after a 'W,' right?"

Brady went 25-of-42 for 277 yards, connecting 10 times for 116 yards with receiver Randy Moss, who battled back pain throughout. A surging offensive line helped key three fourth-down conversions, including a fourth-and-1 from deep in the Pats' territory that created a nine-point lead.

"Yeah, we may have put in a couple extra reps on that this week," center Dan Koppen said.

Four field goals from Stephen Gostkowski lengthened the lead for the Patriots (2-1). The defense pitched a second-half shutout, limiting Michael Turner to 56 rushing yards.

Local hero Matt Ryan, the former Boston College star, was 17-of-28 for 199 passing yards for the Falcons (2-1), a frustrating return.

Along the way, Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork [stats] went down with an ankle injury, a tough blow to a team already playing without cornerback Jonathan Wilhite. It all provided a little confidence heading into Sunday's showdown with the Ravens."