ALAMEDA – Tom Brady's name will forever be connected to the Raiders.

In the infamous "Tuck Rule" game, Brady's fumble against Oakland was overturned to help the New England Patriots win a 2001 AFC divisional playoff that led to the first of three Super Bowl titles in four years and to a career that will eventually land the quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Brady returns to his native Bay Area on Sunday, when the Raiders host the Patriots. Brady was the NFL's first unanimous MVP in 2010 and is off to another fast start this season.

Brady has thrown for 1,327 yards, the most in a three-game stretch in NFL history, breaking the record of 1,257 yards that the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees set in 2006. Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams held the previous record for most yards in the first three games of the season with 1,221 in 2000.

Brady comes to Oakland having thrown at least one touchdown pass in 19 consecutive games, equaling his own team record.

Not a bad start.

"Well, offensive football is about everybody being on the same page," Brady said in a conference call Wednesday. "We've been able to move the ball passing, you know, it's just kind of what the style of the last three games has been. And a lot of the receivers are making plays out there. The offensive line has been protecting great."

Brady leads the league with 11 touchdown passes but threw four of his five interceptions this season in Sunday's loss at Buffalo.

"Losing (stinks)," Brady said. "You better hate losing in the NFL, because if you don't, you're going to lose a lot.

"Fortunately, there's not too many losses that we've had here. Every time you lose, it's a rough few days until you get back to practice and start preparing for the next opponent."

The Raiders have had trouble with pass coverage in their first three games, including missed tackles and missed assignments.

The Raiders figure Brady will try to exploit their weaknesses. Oakland defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who spent eight seasons as Brady's teammate, knows how the Patriots operate.

"They switch it up, and whatever we have problems with, that's what we'll see this week," Seymour said. "So we have to understand and correct where we had problems in the past because they'll definitely attack those."

But slowing down Brady, whom Raiders coach Hue Jackson calls the best quarterback in the NFL, isn't easy.

Cornerback Stanford Routt said Brady's accuracy going short and deep means the Raiders have to "be ready for everything."

"He's seen all the defenses, all the disguises out there," Routt said. "He's definitely a smart guy. I think that will be the game this week. We have to figure out a way to go ahead and combat that, disguise as well as we can and just make plays on the ball whenever it comes."

Brady said the key to his success is to not become one-dimensional and to "take advantage of everything in your playbook."

The Patriots don't run the ball nearly as much as the Raiders, but when they do, they have some success.

New England is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, tied for 11th in the NFL. It's just something else to worry about for the Raiders.

"A lot of offensive football is just being efficient, being effective, keeping them off balance, and we've done a decent job of that," Brady said. "We obviously could have done a better job last week. That's why we're back at practice working hard at it and trying to improve it, because we know it's going to take our best effort against Oakland."

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