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Bad weather didn't bother Tom Brady. The big, bad Bears didn't, either.

Tom Brady

They're in it for the eighth time in 10 years after a 36-7 dismantling of the Chicago Bears on Sunday in which Brady threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns despite the harsh conditions.

"There's a long way to go," he said. "I don't think anything's really been accomplished yet. We're working hard. I don't think we've got every problem solved. There are plenty of defenses that have kicked us around this year. We don't sit in here and think we've got it all figured out."

So he wasn't ready to celebrate. Nor was coach Bill Belichick.

"Good, we got to keep playing," he said. "I'm pretty sure when the end of the season comes, someone will tell us what we need to do."

The win was the fifth straight for the Patriots (11-2), and this one was no less impressive than their 45-3 rout of the New York Jets on Monday night.

They wasted little time blowing it open, grabbing a 33-0 halftime lead and sending Belichick to his 174th career win. That put him in a tie for 10th place with Mike Holmgren.

Brady picked apart the league's third-ranked defense, completing 27 of 40 passes with no interceptions for the eighth straight game. And the Patriots increased their lead in the AFC East to two over the Jets.

"It was a chess match, and he said check mate," Bears safety Chris Harris said.

Deion Branch caught eight passes for a career-high 151 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown at the end of the first half. Wes Welker had eight receptions for 115 yards and the Patriots totaled 475 yards while holding NFC North leader Chicago to 185.

The Bears (9-4) had won five straight since their bye, saving their season when it appeared to be slipping away. But they were no match for the team that came in tied for the league's best record.

Chicago is still a game ahead of Green Bay in the division, but came out flat with a chance to widen its lead and join the league's elite.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees was a young Dallas Cowboys fan cheering on Jason Garrett during his amazing comeback victory on Thanksgiving 1994. With Garrett and the Cowboys on the verge of another holiday stunner, Brees and the New Orleans Saints snatched it away.

Brees and the Saints blew a 17-point lead, but went back ahead with 1:55 left on a quick, long drive and held on for a 30-27 victory when the Cowboys' David Buehler narrowly missed a 59-yard field goal.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton appeared to try calling timeout as the ball was snapped, which would've given Dallas another chance.

But the officials didn't give it to him, so the play stood.

The Saints, playing on the holiday for the first time, won their fourth straight and fifth in six games to improve to 8-3.

The Cowboys (3-8) lost for the first time in three games since Garrett became interim coach.

Sixteen years ago, Garrett was a third-string quarterback making a rare start in place of Troy Aikman when the Cowboys fell behind Brett Favre and the Packers 17-3. Garrett rallied them a 42-31 victory that's among the most stirring in team lore.

This one would've been darn good, too.

Dallas trailed 17-0 after the first three times New Orleans had the ball. The Saints also were up 20-3 just before halftime.

Brees finished 23 of 39 for 352 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

That was another play that would've been a bigger deal had the outcome been reversed — it bounced off the hands of tight end Jimmy Graham and into the hands of Dallas safety Gerald Sensabaugh, leading to Choice's go-ahead score.

The Saints opened the game so crisply, they looked capable of returning to Cowboys Stadium for that informal national holiday in February, the Super Bowl. Brees marched them 80 yards in four plays on the opening drive, never even seeing a second down. They intercepted a screen pass and Garrett Hartley kicked a career-best 50-yard field goal, then Brees drove for another touchdown and the 17-0 lead.

Marques Colsston finished with six catches for 105 yards for New Orleans, and Devery Henderson had 97 yards receiving. Former Cowboys starter Julius Jones ran for 45 yards for the Saints, and Chris Ivory ran for 38 yards and two touchdowns.

Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna was 30 of 42 for 313 yards, and Jason Witten had 10 catches for 99 yards.

Tom Brady was brilliant for the second straight week, outdueling Peyton Manning in their annual meeting Sunday in a 31-28 New England victory over Indianapolis.

Coming off a 350-yard, three-touchdown performance against Pittsburgh, Brady had only six incompletions in 25 passes and threw for two touchdowns.

Brady not only beat four-time MVP Manning, but also tied another icon for an NFL mark. He has won 25 straight regular-season starts at home, equaling Brett Favre's record when he was with Green Bay.

The win kept the Patriots (8-2) tied with the Jets atop the AFC East; the teams will meet in two weeks.

Indianapolis (6-4) staged a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, but James Sanders picked off Manning in the final minute.

Indy had beaten the Patriots in five of the last six matchups. The Colts, who won their first 14 games a year ago en route to the Super Bowl, lead the AFC North. But they're so banged up - they were without five key players Sunday - that considering them a Super Bowl contender right now might be a reach, even with Manning's magic.

He got the Colts within 31-28 with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left on an 18-yard pass to Blair White, who earlier in the fourth period caught a 5-yard TD toss. And Manning brought them within range of a stunning win before Sanders' pick.

Manning's inaccuracies early on were costly. He misfired high several times, including a throw to White that sailed directly to safety Brandon Meriweather.

A 39-yard runback set up the Patriots at the Indy 32, and four plays later Brady hooked up with Wes Welker over the middle for a 22-yard score.

Unable to apply pressure on Brady, the Colts' defense then was torn apart on a 15-play, 82-yard drive capped by Aaron Hernandez's 8-yard scoring catch. The rookie tight end stretched over the goal line for his third TD and a 14-0 lead.

It didn't last long. Manning found his touch, despite consecutive drops by Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie. Indy converted on three third downs, including one when Manning eluded the pass rush and floated a completion to Donald Brown for 25 yards. The TD came to third-string tight end Gijon Robinson from the 1.

Tom Brady

The Patriots were a different team Sunday night in their victory over Pittsburghthan they were a week ago in Cleveland, or at any other point in the season.

This week they were emotional, boisterous and passionate. They came out fast and finished strong, consistently displaying a swagger that was absent from their game in previous weeks.

They took their cues for their leader, Tom Brady.

Throughout the game Brady displayed a fire that hasn’t been spotted this season. He pumped his first after touchdowns, screamed at his offensive line on the sidelines to fire them up and spiked the football after scoring on a quarterback sneak.

“There’s only one way to play the game, and it’s an emotional game,” Brady said. “I think part of being a quarterback is making sure that everyone’s into it and there’s a level of concentration and focus you need.”

Brady was highly animated throughout the game, but there was one moment in the second quarter that stood above the rest.

After being forced to punt for the second time, Brady went to the sidelines and began screaming at his offensive linemen, veins popping out of his neck, in an attempt to get them fired up and keep them in the game.

It worked.

“He was just trying to make sure that everyone was aware of the situation and making sure that everyone knows that game wasn’t over and that they could still come back,” center Logan Mankins said. “You come off a week like last week where we played so horrible and then come into a game like this and you have the lead, you don’t want it to slip away. You want to keep going.”

The offensive line kept the Steelers various defensive weapons at bay, allowing BenJarvus Green-Ellis to run for 87 yards as the Patriots combined for 103, the first time this season that a team has eclipsed 75 against the Steelers.

The Patriots couldn't beat the Browns

If a win over the New Orleans Saints 15 days ago didn't gain respect for the Browns, their 34-14 dismantling of the New England Patriots should have opened a few eyes.

The Browns used some gadget plays in their upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. There was nothing fake about what happened Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium, other than the four-point spread that favored the Patriots.

This was one of the most impressive victories the Browns have had since their return to the NFL in 1999.

They kept Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in check while playing a dominating offensive style that eventually wore down New England's defense.

Browns coach Eric Mangini had every reason to gloat after defeating his former mentor and not-so-close friend Bill Belichick.

If Mangini needed talking points to show management that his plan is working, back-to-back wins over the Saints and Patriots should do the trick.

"It feels great," Mangini said of the win over the team he once worked for and looking ahead to a game next Sunday against the New York Jets, a team he coached for three seasons. "It feels like that movie 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.' New England this week and the Jets next week. It's special to me because of our guys. Not because of their team but because of our team. To work hard and see them rewarded with victories is special."

Words were spoken in the locker room after the game that hadn't been heard for a long time. It centered on the theme "Cleveland Browns football." Prior to the last two games that didn't impress anyone. That's no longer the case.

"This is Browns' football," safety Abram Elam said. "We were able to run the football and play physical and not give up big plays. This is a game we just went out and won. We targeted it throughout the week. It was a challenge going against the top team in the NFL, and we did a good job."

The Patriots entered play as the only one-loss team in the NFL at 6-1. The Browns improved their record to 3-5.

Among many things that stood out was the Browns' ability to control the ball on the ground after opening a 27-7 lead in the second half. The Patriots knew that the Browns weren't going to put the ball into the air much with rookie quarterback Colt McCoy on the field. Still, the offense managed 230 yards on the ground, including 184 and two touchdowns by Peyton Hillis.

Hillis benefitted from outstanding blocking by the offensive line. He was able to turn the right corner untouched on a 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.

"Going back to the last four or five games of last season, we know as an offensive line that we can run the ball," tackle Joe Thomas said. "With Peyton what we get is a guy who's going to run perfect footwork and he's going to run hard and run over people.

"To be able to give him just a little crack, we know he's going to be able to run guys over and get 4 yards minimum. If a running back can get 4 yards every time you can keep feeding him. As the defense wears down he gets stronger. We knew we had to run. They knew we had to run the ball. To still be able to run the ball was a big message."

Hillis returned the praise to the line.

"I couldn't have done it without them," Hillis said. "I have to give thanks to the guys up front for making it all happen."

McCoy didn't do anything to hurt his cause by standing toe-to-toe with Brady. Brady was 19 of 36 for 22 yards, while McCoy was 14 of 19 for 174 yards.

As was the case when the Browns opened a big lead over the Saints, McCoy wasn't asked to shoulder the burden of the offense. He was efficient in what was asked of him.

"I missed a couple of balls early, but I felt really confident," McCoy said. "What I try to hang my hat on is we're going into a game prepared. It's up to us the way we executed. I thought the receivers played great."

Browns kicker Phil Dawson made a 38-yard field goal on the first drive of the game. Sammy Morris mishandled the ensuing kick, and Ray Ventrone recovered for the Browns at the New England 19. Hillis ran 2 yards for a touchdown two plays later.

The Patriots scored on a 2-yard pass from Brady to tight end Aaron Hernandez. The Browns then pulled a play out of the back of the playbook when Joshua Cribbs took a snap under center and handed off to receiver Chansi Stuckey, who was lined up behind right guard Billy Yates in what looked like a "fumblerooskie" play. Stuckey ran around the left side and dove into the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown run to give the Browns a 17-7 halftime lead.

McCoy scrambled 16 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, diving into the end zone while reaching out to make sure the ball crossed the goal line. Dawson kicked a 37-yard field goal to extend the Browns' lead to 27-7.

Brady moved the Patriots closer with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Hernandez. The Browns then drove 60 yards on six plays (all runs by Hillis) to score the clinching touchdown.

The Browns can now look ahead to the Jets. No one is getting overconfident in the locker room.

"We're just going to be humble about it," linebacker David Bowens said. "We understand that we have to go back to the drawing board."