FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady hopes Sunday night represented the start of something good for his New England Patriots.

The veteran quarterback also hopes it puts an end to reports that there is tension between him and the coaching staff.

“Hopefully we can build on this,” Brady said Sunday after the Patriots rebounded from a blowout road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs to post a 43-17 rout of the previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals.

“It’s one game. As disappointing as last Monday night was, this one is great, we all feel great, but we also gotta get back to work tomorrow because we got a huge game this week against Buffalo (on the road).”

An ESPN report that came out Sunday said there was friction between Brady and the coaches, a problem that could see him end his career in another uniform. The report said rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a second-round draft pick, could become the starter sooner than people expect.

“I love all those guys, my coaches, and I’ve never had any tension with any of them, truthfully,” Brady said. “It’s unfortunate when some things get said and talked about, especially when they don’t come from me.

“When you’re in the middle of it — especially in the middle of a real tough week for our team, to deal with things that are really outside football, that are very personal, very personal relationships I’ve built up for a long time … I’ve got a lot of love and trust for everybody in this building. We all count on each other. We rely on each other.”

Facing the prospect of their first 2-3 start since 2001, the Patriots (3-2) made quick work of the NFL’s last unbeaten team, jumping to a 20-3 halftime lead and cruising to their 32nd consecutive home victory over an AFC opponent.

Brady, ineffective through much of the first four games, threw for a season-high 292 yards and two touchdowns, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a career-high five field goals.

Brady, who heard chants of “Bra-dy, Bra-dy” from the supportive home crowd on four occasions, also became the sixth player in NFL history to throw for 50,000 yards. His touchdown passes went to tight ends Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski.

Brady finished 23 of 35, and he wasn’t intercepted.

Running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen combined for 203 of the team’s 220 yards on the ground, with Ridley scoring a touchdown on the opening drive. Ridley ran for 113 yards on 27 carries, his seventh 100-yard game. Vereen gained 90 yards on nine carries.

“Obviously, a satisfying night tonight,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “I thought (the players and coaches) showed a lot of toughness all week.”

The Patriots won despite committing 12 penalties for 114 yards.

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton completed 15 of 24 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked in the third quarter, the first time he was sacked this season.

The Bengals, who fell to 1-9 in Sunday night road games, went 0-for-7 on third downs in the game. Cincinnati (3-1) lost three fumbles, one of them picked up and returned for a third-quarter touchdown by New England cornerback Kyle Arrington on a kick return.

“No, we didn’t underestimate anybody,” said Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, who caught five passes, one for a touchdown, but also lost one of the three fumbles. “We just had a bad game.”

What the Patriots said:

“It was awesome, man. It was very awesome. It showed a lot of heart this team has, and we knew we needed this win. It was against a great football team. They were undefeated, and we just wanted to get this one at home and secure this win.” — Cornerback Darrelle Revis.

What the Bengals said:

“Any time you lose on national television, it is hard to take, but it is not the end of the world.” — Cornerback Leon Hall.

What we learned about the Patriots:

1. These guys aren’t quite dead yet. Facing the prospect of their first 2-3 start since 2001, the Patriots came out and steamrolled the last unbeaten team in the NFL — and won their 32nd consecutive regular-season home game against an AFC opponent. New England was fired up and in control from the start, cruising to a 20-3 halftime lead and then to the 43-17 victory.

2. Quarterback Tom Brady was said to be experiencing tension with the coaching staff, which could lead to him not finishing his career in New England, but he shot down the Bengals and then shot down the ESPN report. He looked a whole lot like the old Brady and not an old Brady in the latest win, during which he cleared the 50,000-yard passing mark for his career. He finished 23 of 35 for a season-high 292 yards and two touchdowns in the easy victory.

–QB Tom Brady’s 27-yard completion to Rob Gronkowski in the second quarter made Brady the sixth player ever to throw for 50,000 yards. With the crowd chanting, “Bra-dy, Bra-dy” three times in the first half, Brady finished the half 11 of 19 for 153 yards and ended the game 23 of 35 for a season-high 292 yards and two touchdowns. “It was awesome,” Brady said of the home chants.

–TE Rob Gronkowski, continuing his comeback from knee surgery, delivered his 13th career 100-yard receiving game. He also caught a touchdown pass, the 45th time he and QB Tom Brady hooked up for a score. That ties them with former Patriots Drew Bledsoe to Ben Coates for second place all time in quarterback to Tight end TD connections. San Diego’s Philip Rivers-to-Antonio Gates connection is the all-time leader in that category with 65. Gronkowski has at least one catch in all 55 of his NFL games. “He’s been through a lot,” Brady said. “Talk about mental toughness; nobody’s got more mental toughness than him.”

–RBs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen took care of the ground game Sunday night. Ridley ran for 113 yards and the game’s first touchdown, his seventh career 100-yard game. Vereen ran for 90 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for 18 yards. New England gained 220 yards on the ground. The Patriots are 39-1 since 2000 when a runner goes for 100 yards.

–TE Tim Wright, acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the deal that sent G Logan Mankins away just before the season, caught five passes for 85 yards and his first Patriots touchdown.

–CB Kyle Arrington scooped up a fumble and ran 9 yards before somersaulting into the end zone with a touchdown. He also forced another fumble. “Aww, man, my eyes got huge,” he said of the scoring play. “As soon as the ball came out, I put it in second gear.”

What we learned about the Bengals:

1. Despite the hype of being the last of the NFL’s unbeatens, the Bengals are still the not-ready-for-primetime team that can’t win a playoff game. They came into this one with a chance to truly establish themselves as a member of the AFC elite, but they fumbled and bumbled their way to their first loss of the season.

2. Quarterback Andy Dalton has a long way to go to be a Tom Brady. This was a night Dalton, like his team, could have made a statement, and the only statement Dalton made was that he is a pretty good quarterback. He threw two touchdowns passes, but the Bengals also failed to convert a third-down situation all night, going 0-for-7.

–QB Andy Dalton completed 15 of 24 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday night’s blowout loss at New England. He was sacked in the third quarter, the first sack he absorbed all year.

–CB Adam Jones ran 47 yards with his only punt return Sunday night. It was the 82nd consecutive punt he returned without calling for a fair catch, including all 49 with the Bengals. The last time he called a fair catch was Nov. 16, 2006.

–RB Giovani Bernard ran for 62 yards on 13 carries and also caught two passes for 10 yards on a night when his team was held in check by the New England defense.

–DT Devon Still, brought back by the Bengals to their practice squad so they could help with his daughter’s pediatric cancer treatment, learned Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated $25,000 to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Still’s daughters name. The Patriots had a video tribute to the Stills during the third quarter, with New England cheerleaders all wearing his No. 75 to show support.

“I was surprised,” Still said. “I didn’t know they had the jerseys on. And then they played the video. It definitely made me emotional to see the cheerleaders take off their jackets and to see the jerseys definitely took it over the top for me. We came here to play a football game with an opposing team, and I didn’t expect them to show the support that they did today. It was amazing what they did today. It shows this fight is more than about football. Everybody is trying to chip in and step up for the cause.”