NFL-Patriots one win away from perfect season

BOSTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The New England Patriots moved to within one game of a perfect regular season when they crushed the Miami Dolphins 28-7 to become the first NFL team to go 15-0 on Sunday.

Tom Brady passed for three touchdowns, two of them going to Randy Moss, in the historic win.

"It's great to be 15-0," the New England quarterback, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 215 yards, told reporters.

"I thought it was a great first half and I thought we played really well. "In the second half we just didn't execute very well, certainly not the way we wanted to."

The Patriots can join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only NFL teams to go undefeated in the regular season if they beat the New York Giants on Saturday.

"I think that would be a great accomplishment for this team," Brady said.

The Dolphins were 14-0 in 1972, six years before the NFL went to a 16-game schedule.

Miami were the last team to beat New England in the regular season, shutting out the Patriots 21-0 on Dec. 10, 2006 in Miami.

New England have since won 18 consecutive regular-season games, matching the league record of the 2003-2004 Patriots.

All of the Patriots' scoring came in the first half, which they led 28-0.

Moss caught passes of 11 and one yard to put New England ahead 14-0 against the Dolphins (1-14).

Laurence Maroney's 59-yard run made it 21-0 before Brady connected with Jabar Gaffney for a 48-yard TD pass.

The score gave the Patriots a record-breaking 71 touchdowns for the season. The 1984 Dolphins held the previous record of 70.

It was also Brady's 48th touchdown pass this season, one short of Peyton Manning's 2004 record.

Moss, with 21 TD receptions this year, is also one shy of the NFL record, set in 1987 by Jerry Rice.

* Peyton Manning threw three touchdowns as the Indianapolis Colts rolled to a 38-15 home victory over the Houston Texans for their sixth win in a row.

Dallas Clark caught two TD passes, giving him 11 for the season. Manning was 28-of-35 for 311 yards in three quarters of play as the Colts improved to 13-2.

* The Chicago Bears (6-9) stunned the Green Bay Packers for the second time this season, rushing to a 35-7 home victory, with Green Bay's Brett Favre held without a touchdown pass.

The loss cost the Packers (12-3) the chance to win the NFC's No.1 seed and home-field playoff advantage.

* The New York Giants (10-5) secured an NFC playoff berth with a 38-21 road victory over the Buffalo Bills (7-8). The Giants' Brandon Jacobs rushed a career-high 145 yards and scored twice.

Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury earlier in the season, attended and addressed the Bills before the game.

* The Washington Redskins (8-7) snapped the Minnesota Vikings' five-game winning streak with a 32-21 road victory.

* Matt Hasselbeck passed for two touchdowns and the playoff-bound Seattle Seahawks (10-5) cruised to a 27-6 home win over the Baltimore Ravens (4-11).

* Donovan McNabb's three touchdown passes led the Philadelphia Eagles (7-8) to a 38-23 road win over the New Orleans Saints (7-8).

* Fred Taylor sprinted 62 yards for a touchdown on Jacksonville's opening play and the playoff-bound Jaguars (11-4) crushed the Oakland Raiders (4-11) 49-11.

* The Tennessee Titans (9-6) kept their playoff hopes alive with a 10-6 home victory over the New York Jets (3-12).

* The Cincinnati Bengals (6-9) intercepted Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson four times to win 19-14 and prevent the Browns (9-6) from clinching a playoff berth.

* Neil Rackers's 31-yard field goal in overtime gave the Arizona Cardinals a 30-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

* Shaun Hill's three TD passes led the San Francisco 49ers (5-10) to a 21-19 home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6).

* The Detroit Lions (7-8) ended a six-game skid with a 25-20 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs (4-11), who lost their eighth successive game. (Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)