FOXBORO -- While much of the success of the Patriots passing game comes from the fact that they spread the ball around to as many receivers as possible, opponents have limited Tom Brady’s options the last two weeks.

They’ve evolved into his go-to guys over the course of the season, but now more than ever, Brady has come to rely almost exclusively on Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. The last two games Brady has completed 52 passes, with 30 of them going to Welker and Gronkowski (17 to Welker, 13 to Gronkowski) and 22 going to the rest of the group.

There have been catches here and there by other receivers (including five from Kevin Faulk against the Steelers and a pair of touchdown catches for Aaron Hernandez), but over the last two weeks, that’s pretty much been it. Of Brady’s 84 pass attempts the last two weeks, Welker and Gronkowski have been targeted a combined 42 times.

“I don’t know if it’s defense dictating it, but I think you want to try to get the ball to your playmakers,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “Those guys have made a lot of plays for us, so I’d say if we threw that many passes and didn’t throw it to them, then you’d be coming in here saying, ‘Hey Bill, you threw all these passes, how come only two went to Welker and one went to Gronkowski? How come you didn’t throw it to them?’

“I think they’re good options if they’re open. If they’re not open, then hopefully there’s somebody else that is. They’re two of our better players. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with throwing it to them if they’re productive, and they were both productive (Sunday).”

With those two, it’s not just a question of productivity, but dependability and chemistry with Brady. It’s clear both have extraordinary playmaking ability, but there’s also a level of trust between the quarterback and the two pass catchers that simply doesn’t exist with some of the other offensive skill position players. That takes a long time to develop, according to former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria.

“With Tom, you have to string a bunch of games together with big plays in critical situations, and you have to come through on a regular basis,” Fauria said. “It can’t be fumble, catch, drop, missed assignment, catch, drop, catch. You have to be consistent and show him that you can do it over and over again.”

After a strong start, the New England passing game has had some issues over the last couple of weeks. Against the Steelers, Brady failed to break the 200-yard mark for the first time all season (he had 198 yards). And while he had 342 passing yards against the Giants, there were several times where Brady missed connections on several throws with wide receivers, including a first-half pass for Deion Branch on a slant that was tipped at the line. He failed to connect with Aaron Hernandez in the end zone at the end of the first half. And he underthrew Rob Gronkowski on a second-half pass play that was picked off by Deon Grant.

The Patriots have seen more man coverage over the last two weeks, and it could be as simple as the fact that Gronkowski and Welker have had favorable matchups and an ability to get separation on their defenders. But the recent struggles lead some to believe that New England is missing an added element to their receiving corps, something Fauria agrees with. To that point, Fauria said Ochocinco should watch film on the guy who served as the Patriots No. 3 receiver from 2006 through 2008.

“I think you really need one more guy who is going to catch 35 balls who isn’t a tight end,” Fauria said. “That was supposed to be Chad. But if anyone thought Chad was brought in here to be Randy Moss, circa 2007, they’re out of their mind. He doesn’t have that ability.

“Chad was brought in here to be Jabar Gaffney. The thinking is that Welker is our guy, we love our tight ends, Deion is a consistent route runner but he’s not the No. 1 read anymore. You need a threatening No. 3 receiver behind Welker and Branch,” he added. “That’s what Gaffney was.

“You would think that Ochocinco would have been that x factor for this passing game, especially as someone on the perimeter that can scare some people. Not a burner that can go deep and separate himself, but someone who still makes a defense go, ‘Oh, crap, we have to get after him.’“

Fauria believes that the Patriots could still incorporate Ochocinco into the offense and said they took a step in the right direction on Sunday when it appeared they went out of their way to try and utilize him with a season-high five targets in the second half.

“On Sunday, Chad still had one really nice route, a slant where the defender made a really nice play on the ball,” Fauria said. “What was he, targeted five times last week? The Patriots need to target him 10 times. You need to threaten people with him. They went to him in some key situations on Sunday ... that’s the sign of an important play. They need to challenge him.”