For the second consecutive drive, the Broncos fumbled the football. This time it was Tim Tebow, as he was hit while preparing to pitch to Eddie Royal.

And for the second consecutive drive, the Patriots capitalized with points on the board — a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Tom Brady.

Early in the drive, a neutral-zone infraction on second-and-10 made it second-and-5 for New England, and Brady quickly hit Wes Welker for a 4-yard gain. On third-and-1, the defense stuffed a run, but the Patriots elected to go for it on fourth down.

New England called its second timeout of the half before the play, and after the break, Brady nearly tripped in the backfield but regained his footing and hit tight end Aaron Hernandez for a 25-yard completion. That set up first-and-goal at the 6-yard line.

A 5-yard run by Stevan Ridley was followed by a quarterback sneak by Brady for the score.

After the extra point, the Patriots lead 24-16 with 1:12 left in the first half.

The Broncos offense continued its hot start Sunday, putting together a 10-play, 63-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters. It took 4:34 off the clock.

The drive started with a 22-yard strike from Tim Tebow to Eric Decker, and nearly included a spectacular play as Demaryius Thomas attempted a pass on an end-around on the next play, but it fell incomplete in front of Lance Ball. Ball still picked up a first down on the next play via a 12-yard run.

The next first down came courtesy of a 19-yard Tebow run, and it would be the last of the drive. A short Ball run was followed by a short completion from Tebow to Thomas on a shovel pass, setting up third-and-6. Tebow picked up 5 yards on a run on the next play, and Matt Prater jogged onto the field to attempt a field goal on fourth down.

His 26-yarder was good, extending the Broncos lead to 16-7.

Just a quick rundown of the first-quarter statistics –

The Broncos outgained the Patriots 218 to 83 in total yards, including 167 rushing yards compared to New England’s 4. Those 167 rushing yards are the most in the first quarter in franchise history in at least 20 years when the statistic began being tracked.

Willis McGahee, who is probable to return with a leg injury, led the way with 59 yards on the ground.