ORCHARD PARK, New York, (AFP) - Tom Brady threw for 298 yards and defensive end Richard Seymour scored a touchdown off a fumble as New England posted their record-tying 18th straight win with a 31-17 victory over Buffalo.
New England (3-0) tied a record that includes playoff matches held by five teams - the Denver Broncos (1997-98), the San Francisco 49ers (1989-90), the Miami Dolphins (1972-73), and the Chicago Bears (1941-42 and 1933-34).
"We don't care anything about a record," claimed Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "We were just trying to win another division game and we have another one coming up."
Brady threw for two touchdowns and the Patriots sacked Drew Bledsoe seven times in Sunday's National Football League contest.
"As coach would say, we're looking forward, we're not looking backward. This team focuses week to week. That's the only thing you can focus on," Brady said.
"If you look back, teams are going to track you down and beat you."
In other Sunday games, Atlanta found a way to get to 4-0 even with an ordinary Michael Vick by pounding the Panthers; the Jacksonville ran out of miracles and were stopped by the Colts and Philadelphia posted their fourth double-digit win.
The Patriots won their final 12 regular-season games last year, three playoff matches and their first three games this season to get to 18.
They can break the record at home next Sunday against lowly Miami.
Bledsoe had problems escaping the Patriots' aggressive pass rush, especially in the second half. He lost his job to Brady in New England's first Super Bowl-winning season three years ago.
Cornerback Kevin Mathis returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to lead Atlanta to a 27-10 win over Carolina in a battle of NFC South rivals.
Atlanta outscored the Panthers, 91-14 in Vick's three previous starts against them. But in this one, Vick rushed for just 35 yards.
"The running game opened up the passing game downfield," Vick said. "I'm not trying to do too much. I'm letting the game come to me. We did a great job of executing."
Atlanta was able to establish a solid running game, intercepted Jake Delhomme twice and held DeShaun Foster to 51 yards on 19 carries
Atlanta is 4-0 for only the second time in franchise history. The first was in 1986 when Dan Henning was the coach.
Carolina (1-2) lost for the second time in as many home games.
Meanwhile, Byron Leftwich again displayed some fourth-quarter magic, but it wasn't enough to beat Indianapolis.
Edgerrin James' three-yard touchdown romp with 3:33 left in the final quarter lifted the Colts to a 24-17 victory over Jacksonville.
The win was the third in a row for Indianapolis (3-1) following a season-opening loss at New England. It was the first loss of the season for the Jaguars (3-1).
Jacksonville won its previous three games with late-game heroics.
Last week, Fred Taylor's one-yard run with nine seconds left lifted the Jaguars to a 15-12 win at Tennessee. Two weeks ago, Jaguars linebacker Akin Ayodele recovered a fumble by Quentin Griffin at the Jacksonville 21 with 31 seconds left to ensure a 7-6 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Tiki Barber rushed for 182 yards on 23 carries and tight end Jeremy Shockey caught the go-ahead four-yard touchdown pass with 12:07 left in the fourth quarter to lead the Giants to a 14-7 win over the Brett Favre's Green Bay Packers.
Favre extended his NFL-record consecutive games streak for a quarterback to 193 regular-season games, but was unable to finish.
The three-time MVP suffered a concussion when he was knocked down by defensive tackle William Joseph after throwing a pass early in the third quarter.