Rob Gronkowski scored two first-half touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots to a 38-7 lead over the Chicago Bears at half time in the NFL game at Foxboro this evening.

The Patriots took an early lead when Tom Brady found Gronkowski with a six-yard pass, completing a touchdown pass to the tight end for the 46th time, setting a new franchise record.

The home team were in a strong position again at the end of the first quarter, but Brady failed to sneak over, before a false start on the next play forced New England to send on Stephen Gostkowski to kick.

The Patriots extended their lead further early in the second half when Gronkowski picked up a big gain before Brady picked out Tim Wright for the touchdown.

However, a Brady interception shortly after gave the Bears the ball in a good field position, allowing Jay Cutler to find Matt Forte to get Chicago off the mark.

The Patriots finished the second quarter strongly though, with Gronkowski holding on out wide in the endzone for his second of the game, before a big Julian Edelman punt return set up Brandon LaFell for a 19-yard score.

There was more pain for the Bears before the end of the quarter though, as Rob Ninkovich recovered a Cutler fumble and ran it back for a touchdown, giving the Patriots their third score in less than a minute.