A networked computer with a network interface device to which the network stack can offload a subset of the functions needed to process received data packets. The network interface device can receive a map between connections and application buffers. Upon receipt of a data packet through a connection, the network interface device may use the map to identify an application buffer and transfer the data packet to that application buffer. The network interface device may be programmed to recognize qualifications on data packets appropriate for transfer to an application buffer, such as by receiving the sequence number of the next expected packet. Because the network interface device can recognize packets for transfer to an application buffer by simple comparison of a packet header to the map, additional hardware required in the network interface device to perform the offloaded functions is lightweight.