Patriots quarterback Rohan Davey continued his stellar play in the NFL Europe League this past weekend, tossing four touchdown passes as he guided the Berlin Thunder to a 35-31 home victory over the Cologne Centurions. New England's 2002 fourth-round selection completed 19-of-27 passes for 279 yards, finishing the contest with a 127.9 passer rating. His performance earned him the NFL Europe Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week and helped Berlin improve to 3-0 for the first time in franchise history. Davey leads NFL Europe with six touchdown passes, a 66.1 percent completion rate and a 122.8 passer rating through three games.
"Rohan is just outstanding," said Thunder head coach Rick Lantz. "He had a big-time football game against Cologne. He hits the big passes but also makes all the other throws along the way. He is the complete package at quarterback and is always in command. If he continues to play this way, we will keep winning."
Davey enjoyed a strong first quarter, connecting on three touchdown tosses to give the Thunder a 21-7 lead after the opening stanza. On the second play from scrimmage, he found a streaking Richard Alston for a 40-yard touchdown connection to give Berlin a 7-0 advantage just 52 seconds into the game. After a Centurions turnover deep in their own territory, Davey found Jorg Heckenbach for an eight-yard touchdown strike to make the score 14-0 with 9:57 remaining in the first quarter. The former Louisiana State standout finished the touchdown trifecta with a six-yard scoring pass to LaShaun Ward with nine seconds left in the first quarter.
After Cologne tied the score at 21 with 1:57 remaining in the second quarter, Davey responded with his fourth touchdown pass of the first half, connecting with Alston on a 45-yard scoring strike for a 28-21 lead that Berlin would not relinquish.
Four other Patriots also contributed to the Thunder's third straight victory. On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Chas Gessner registered two receptions for 42 yards, while guard Jamil Soriano anchored an offensive line that did not allow sack in Davey's 27 pass attempts. Safety Scott Farley finished third on the team with eight tackles (4 solo), while leading Berlin with two special teams stops. Lawrence Flugence started at outside linebacker and collected three tackles.
In other action across the pond, the Frankfurt Galaxy improved to 3-0 with a 28-10 victory over the Rhein Fire on Saturday in Frankfurt, Germany. David Pruce got the start at left tackle for the Galaxy and opened holes for 119 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. In the other NFL Europe contest, the Amsterdam Admirals tallied a 3-0 win over the Scottish Claymores. Safety Jason Perry led the Admirals with a game-high 11 tackles (8 solo) and a pass defense in the victory.
Buck Rasmussen, the Patriots' eighth NFL Europe allocation, did not see game action with the Galaxy.
Davey and the Thunder can be seen in action against Rhein this Saturday, April 24 at 1:00 pm on the NFL Network.
Notes
Through three games Davey has completed 39-of-59 passes for 549 yards with six touchdowns for a 122.8 passer rating. He has thrown just one interception and been sacked only once. He's also rushed six times for 37 yards and one touchdown. … Farley has started two of three games played for the Thunder, tallying 15 tackles and one pass defense from his safety spot. … Flugence has started all three Thunder wins at linebacker and has 13 tackles and two passes defensed. … Gessner also has three starts, totaling 10 receptions for 156 yards and three touchdowns. … Perry has 25 tackles and two passes defensed in three starts at safety for the Admirals. … The Thunder and Galaxy sit atop the NFLEL standings with matching 3-0 records. Rhein comes next with a 2-1 mark, followed by Amsterdam at 1-2 with both Cologne and Scotland in last place with 0-3 starts to the season. … This week's schedule has Berlin at Rhein (1:00 p.m. on the NFL Network) and Scotland at Cologne (1:00 p.m.) on Saturday. Frankfurt visits Amsterdam (9:00 a.m. on DIRECTV/NFL Network) on Sunday.
