Brady leads Patriots past Colts

INDIANAPOLIS: Tom Brady threw two late touchdown strikes to lift the New England Patriots to a dramatic 24-20 win over the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts in a heavyweight clash between the NFL's two unbeaten teams on Sunday.

The contest dubbed the "Unbeaten Bowl" lived up to its colossal hype, the Patriots improving to 9-0 and staying on course to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as just the second NFL team to go through a season without loss.

"It was good win but we got a long way to go," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters. "They (Colts) are tough and make you work for everything but I thought our guys stepped up and made some big plays.

"Especially, in the second half when we scored when we needed to."

Trailing 20-10 with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Brady engineered two scoring drives capped by touchdown strikes to Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk.

The Patriots quarterback also connected with favorite target Randy Moss for a second-quarter touchdown and ended the game with 33 TD passes for the season, erasing the franchise record of 31.

The victory snapped the Colts' 12-game unbeaten run stretching back to last season and the loss was their first at home in 14 games.

Rushing record

Rookie Adrian Peterson rushed for an NFL single-game record 296 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries as the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) battered the San Diego Chargers 35-17. Antonio Cromartie of San Diego (4-4) set a record for the longest play in NFL history when he returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown.

Brett Favre became the third NFL quarterback to defeat all 31 league opponents as he passed for two touchdowns and 360 yards in the Green Bay Packers' 33-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady and Manning are the other two to achieve the feat.

The Detroit Lions crushed the Denver Broncos 44-7 for their fourth successive home win. Jon Kitna passed for two touchdowns and the defense added two more scores for the Lions (6-2). Denver (3-5) was held to a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Drew Brees passed for three touchdowns and a season-high 445 yards as the New Orleans Saints (4-4) completed a 41-24 home victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3) for their fourth successive win.

Shaun Suisham kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime to lead the Washington Redskins (5-3) to a 23-20 road victory over the New York Jets (1-8). Mike Nugent's 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining for the Jets had forced the extra time.

Phil Dawson's 25-yard field goal, also in overtime, gave the Cleveland Browns (5-3) a 33-30 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks (4-4). Josh Brown's 22-yard field goal as time expired had sent the game into overtime.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/06/2007 page24)