In their final home game of the regular season, the Patriots faced the Cardinals, who had already clinched the NFC West division title, in snowy and eventually rainy weather. The Patriots deferred the opening coin toss, giving the Cardinals the ball to start the game. Without starting wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was not active for the game with an injury, the Cardinals went three-and-out; Welker returned the punt 28 yards to the Cardinals' 33-yard line. Passing once on a seven-play drive and using backup offensive lineman Russ Hochstein as a fullback, the Patriots took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Jordan touchdown run. The Cardinals' ensuing possession was again a three-and-out, and a 36-yard punt by Ben Graham, released by the Jets earlier in the season, helped the Patriots start their next drive from their own 45-yard line. Two plays in, a Cassel pass to Morris went for 42 yards, putting the Patriots in the Cardinals' red zone. Jordan would soon score his second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run that gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead. For their third straight possession, the Cardinals would be again forced to punt, facing a 4th-and-16 after a third down sack of quarterback Kurt Warner split by Seymour and Wright. However, the Patriots, despite starting from their own 44-yard line, were then forced to punt on a three-and-out drive. On the next play, which ended the first quarter, Mayo forced a fumble of Cardinals running back Tim Hightower on the Cardinals' 12-yard line that was recovered by former Patriots tight end Stephen Spach at the Cardinals' 4-yard line. Three plays later, the Cardinals punted to the Patriots, who began their next series from midfield. Two plays in, Cassel connected with Gaffney on a 37-yard completion, and then again to Faulk two plays later for a 15-yard touchdown reception, putting the Patriots ahead 21-0. Beginning from their own 19-yard line the Cardinals moved to the Patriots' 31-yard line on nine plays, but could not convert a 4th-and-1 pass on the tenth play, turning the ball over on downs. The Patriots responded with a 12-play, 69-play drive culminating in an 11-yard Welker touchdown catch that gave the Patriots a 28-0 lead; Welker celebrated by making a snow angel in the end zone, costing the Patriots 15 yards on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. As a result, the Cardinals began their next drive from their own 39-yard line, but punted again after three plays. With 1:24 remaining in the first half, the Patriots then moved from their own 29-yard line to the Cardinals' 20-yard line, but could get no further and on the final play of the half, Gostkowski kicked a 38-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 31-0 lead. With the ball to begin the second half as the result of their opening coin toss deferral, the Patriots extended their lead to 38-0 on the first play, a screen pass to Moss that went for a 76-yard touchdown. The Cardinals again went three-and-out, and a 28-yard reception by Evans put the Patriots in Cardinals territory on one play. Nine plays later, on a 3rd-and-5 from the Cardinals' 5-yard line, Cassel was sacked by linebacker Karlos Dansby, setting up a 35-yard Gostkowski field goal that increased the Patriots' lead to 41-0. Yet another Cardinals three-and-out meant the Patriots began their next drive from the Cardinals' 49-yard line. An 11-play, 44-yard drive followed, and ended in a 24-yard Gostkowski field goal that put the Patriots' lead at 44-0. The field goal was Gostkowski's 33rd of the season, breaking Tony Franklin's record of 32 field goals in 1986. On their ensuing possession, the Cardinals converted a first down, but quarterback Matt Leinart, playing in place of Warner, was sacked for a loss of four yards, fumbling; the Cardinals recovered at their own 27-yard line. Two plays later, Leinart was strip-sacked by a blitzing Meriweather for a loss of 12 yards, but this time defensive lineman Jarvis Green recovered the ball for the Patriots at the Cardinals' 15-yard line. The Patriots would be unable to score, forcing Gostkowski to kick a 30-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter, giving the Patriots a 47-0 lead. Leinart completed a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Jerheme Urban on the Cardinals' next drive, but Leinart's next pass attempt to Urban, two plays later, was tipped and intercepted by Hobbs at the Patriots' 37-yard line and returned for a loss of seven yards. With a 47-point lead, O'Connell replaced Cassel for the Patriots' next possession, which went three-and-out. An exchange of punts followed, giving the Cardinals the ball again at their own 29-yard line. Two plays in, Leinart threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, putting the Cardinals on the board at 47-7. With six minutes left in the game, Jordan and Morris each ran three times for a first down each to bring the game to the two-minute warning; O'Connell then kneeled three times to end the game. The 47 points scored brought the Patriots to four 40-point games on the season, tying the team record set in 2007, and gave the Patriots the only back-to-back 40-point games of any NFL team in 2008.. how many did the patriots lead in the first?