The New England Patriots entered Week 13 last in the NFL in terms of first-quarter scoring. On Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, they broke out all expectations of a slow start by opening with an awesome 70-yard play that was finished off with a Cam Newton one-yard touchdown.

According to Newton, that strong start was key to their 45-0 win:

“It was the right way we wanted to start the game,” Newton said after the game, per Zach Cox of NESN. “We had that as a key to victory this week, and I think we hit pretty much most of them.”

One way the Patriots tried to remedy their relatively slow start was to jump right to team drills from warm-ups. According to Damien Harris, who has been the Patriots' starting running back since Sony Michel's injury in October, the team has stuck to its identity as a physical team. In their win on Sunday, Harris led all rushers with  80 yards on 16 carries.

“We’re just playing to our identity,” Harris said. “Everyone knows that’s something that we put a lot of effort and a lot of thought into, running the ball. We want to be a tough, physical team that can run the ball downhill and kind of establish a physical mentality throughout the rest of the game.

“Everybody knows that’s who we are. We know that’s who we are, and we’re going to continue to try to play to it.”

Hopefully, the Patriots' impressive showing against the Chargers will jumpstart their opening quarters in the next weeks.