Surging Patriots dominate Bears in snow

CHICAGO - Neither bad weather nor the Bears bothered Tom Brady.

He threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the Patriots locked up their eighth playoff berth in 10 years with a 36-7 pounding on a snowy, blustery, bone-chilling day.

The fifth straight win for the Patriots (11-2) was no less impressive than their 45-3 rout of the Jets on Monday night. They wasted little time blowing it open, grabbing a 33-0 halftime lead.

Like coach Bill Belichick, Brady took the Patriots' second straight runaway in stride.

"There's a long way to go," Brady 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."

Brady was brilliant again despite the brutal conditions, picking apart the league's third-ranked defense. He completed 27 of 40 passes and went without an interception for the eighth straight game.

Deion Branch caught eight passes for a career-high 151 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown on the final play 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 but were no match for the team that is tied with the Falcons 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 show it could beat the league's elite.

Jay Cutler struggled, completing 12 of 26 for 152 yards with two interceptions and two sacks.

The game-time temperature was 26, and with snow and a 30-mph wind swirling through the stadium, visibility wasn't great. The field was blanketed in white and the boundaries, goal lines and yard markers were tough to see. Logos were all but invisible, too.

That didn't stop Brady from throwing for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone as the Patriots put up 33 points, the second most ever allowed by the Bears in an opening half.

Brady led an 85-yard TD drive in the first quarter, finishing it with a 7-yard strike through the flakes to Rob Gronkowski to make it 7-0 with about five minutes left in the first quarter.

The game got out of hand in the second quarter, with the Patriots pouring it on just as they did against the Jets.