PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) - The Patriots finally found out what it is like to lose again as the baseball Boston Red Sox seemed to have used up all of New England's positive karma with a World Series sweep.
Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady was intercepted twice as the Pittsburgh Steelers snapped New England's 21-game National Football League winning streak with a 34-20 victory on Sunday.
"It was pretty clear out there that the Steelers were the better team," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
"They outcoached us, outplayed us. They did a lot of things right and deserved to win. Any time you give up 34 points, especially on the road, it's tough to win."
While joy came to Red Sox after an 86-years of hardship, the the Patriots dropped to 6-1. The loss leaves Philadelphia (7-0) as the NFL's lone remaining unbeaten team.
It was 399 days ago that the Patriots lost their last game, a 20-17 defeat to Washington on September 28, 2003.
Since then, New England set NFL records with 21 straight wins, including playoffs, and 18 consecutive regular season victories.
In that span, the Red Sox made baseball history by rallying from a three games to none deficit to beat the Yankees in the ALCS this past month before sweeping St. Louis in the World Series.
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh's first-round pick and the third quarterback selected in the 2004 draft, does not know what it feels like to lose as a starter in the NFL.
"I give New England a lot of credit," said Roethlisberger, the second rookie quarterback to win his first five starts since the 1970 merger.
"They threw a lot of things at us offensively and defensively, but we executed well."
Since replacing the injured Tommy Maddox, Roethlisberger is 5-0 for the first-place Steelers (6-1).
While Brady turned the ball over twice, Roethlisberger played a mistake-free game, completing 18-of-24 passes for 196 yards. He hit Plaxico Burress with scoring plays of 47 and four yards in the first quarter to stake Pittsburgh to a 14-3 lead.
The Patriots were hurt by the absence of leading rusher Corey Dillon, who was sidelined with a thigh injury.
Philadelphia improved to 7-0 for first time in franchise history as Terrell Owens had an 11-yard TD catch and David Akers kicked three field goals in a 15-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
After Owens shunned the Ravens for a chance to play with Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, he received a word of advice from Ray Lewis, the Ravens' star linebacker who warned the brash receiver to not go over the middle.
But Owens went over the middle for his ninth touchdown of the season before eluding three defenders on his way to the end zone, giving the Eagles a 15-3 lead with 9:12 remaining.
Owens followed his latest TD by imitating a dance that Lewis does before each game.
Working against the NFL's top-scoring defence, McNabb was an efficient 18-of-33 for 219 yards.
"It's not all about Ray on that defense. He's one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, but there are other guys out there making big plays," McNabb said.
In other key games on Sunday, the Giants rule Vikings once again 34-13, the Chiefs had more firepower in 45-35 shootout with Colts and the Titans held off Cincinnati 27-20.
Tiki Barber rushed for 75 of his 101 yards and both of his touchdowns in the first half when the New York Giants built a 20-point lead en route to a 34-13 rout of the host Minnesota Vikings.
It marked the fourth straight year the teams met here with the Giants winning the last three.
In Kansas City, Peyton Manning passed for a career-high 472 yards and five touchdowns, but this time it wasn't enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
The combination of Trent Green and Priest Holmes was too much for Manning and his receivers to overcome as the Chiefs outscored the Indianapolis Colts, 45-35.
Shaun Alexander rushed for 195 yards - 119 in the first half - and scored two touchdowns as the Seahawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 23-17 victory over the slumping Carolina Panthers.
Vinny Testaverde passed for three touchdowns and ran for a score as the Dallas Cowboys posted a 31-21 victory over the upstart Detroit Lions.
Drew Blees tossed a career-high five touchdown passes in leading the surprising San Diego Chargers to a 42-14 rout of Oakland.
Nathan Vasher returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown with 3:52 remaining as the Chicago Bears posted a 23-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
11/01/2004 - 08:27 GMT - AFP