Dec 10, 2007 11:16 am US/Eastern
Patriots Advance To 13-0 With Win Against Steelers
FOXBORO (WBZ) ―
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FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 9: Randy Moss of the New England Patriots reacts as he walks by Anthony Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium December 9, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots won 34-13. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
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FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 9: Allen Rossum #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers gains yards in the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium December 9, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images
The Patriots are dominant once more, and still unbeaten.
Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, shattering Steelers safety Anthony Smith's guarantee of a victory, Randy Moss caught two of them and New England crushed Pittsburgh 34-13 on Sunday. Two of the TD's were at the expense of Smith, one a quick-strike 63-yarder after Moss ran past Smith and cornerback Ike Taylor on his way into the open field.
The lopsided victory against the NFL's stingiest defense followed a two-game struggle in which the Patriots (13-0) needed late comebacks to beat teams with losing records, Philadelphia and Baltimore.
They had a short week to prepare for the Steelers (9-4) after beating the Ravens on Monday night on a touchdown with 44 seconds left.
Still, the Patriots became the fifth team with a 13-0 record, joining the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1972 Miami Dolphins, 1998 Denver Broncos and 2005 Indianapolis Colts. They can become the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to finish a regular season undefeated.
They should be big favorites to win the next two, against the Jets and Dolphins, and take a 15-0 record into their season finale at the New York Giants.
Brady is four scoring passes shy of Peyton Manning's record of 49 set in 2004 and moved ahead of Dan Marino's 44 in 1986 into third place. Marino holds the second spot with 48.
Moss caught touchdown passes of 4 and 63 yards in a span of 1:59 midway through the first half and has 19 to move into second place for a season. Jerry Rice's record of 22 is in sight.
Brady also threw scoring passes of 56 yards to Jabar Gaffney and 2 yards to Wes Welker.
It was a beating like so many of those the Patriots handed out in their first 10 games, when their average victory margin was 25.4 points.
There may have been extra satisfaction because Smith was burned on both long touchdown passes.
Just before the 2-minute warning at the end of the game, the fans began chanting "Guarantee!" to mock Smith, whose picture was shown on the scoreboard.
"When something like that is said, it's either going to be really good for you or really bad. I think we all saw how it turned out there," New England offensive lineman Matt Light said. "The big man upstairs, they say he has a sense of humor."
The Patriots were laughing openly after a flea-flicker that went from Brady to Moss, off the turf, and back to Brady, who heaved a 56-yard floater to a wide-open Jabar Gaffney in the end zone. Smith was sprinting to catch up.
"We've played against a lot better safeties than him, I'll tell you," New England coach Bill Belichick said with a smile, adding later: "The safety play at that position was pretty inviting."
Despite the win, none of the Patriots were willing to consider the chance for a perfect season after the game: "14-0 means something to me. I think that's about as far as I would go," said Brady, who completed 32-of-46 for 399 yards.
Both Moss and Brady are on track to set some NFL records of their own as well.
Moss, who caught seven passes for 135 yards in the game, needs just four more touchdown catches in the last three games to break Jerry Rice's record of 22 in a season. While Brady needs only five more TD passes to break Peyton Manning's record of 49 set in 2004.
"I told him I hope he breaks the record next week, because it's so much fun watching him play," said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. "I don't like him playing against us and how well he played, but it truly is an honor to watch such a great quarterback play the game."
The Steelers would have clinched a playoff berth with a victory, but still lead the AFC North.
"We are still writing our story," Coach Mike Tomlin said. "This is not the final chapter in our story, and it wasn't going to be whether we won or lost."
Game Notes: Gaffney caught seven passes for 122 yards. New England ran for just 22 yards in the game. Willie Parker rushed for 124 yards on 21 carries for Pittsburgh. Belichick improved to 100-39 as Patriots coach, including the playoffs. Brady wasn't sacked by Pittsburgh and in 476 passes attempted this season, he's been sacked just 16 times. Pittsburgh played without starting safeties Ryan Clark, on injured reserve, and Troy Polamalu, who has a knee injury. The Patriots became the fifth team with a 13-0 record, joining the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1972 Miami Dolphins, 1998 Denver Broncos and 2005 Indianapolis Colts.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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