Patriots beat Bears but know they need to play better

FOXBORO -- It was said they needed to beat a good team in the worst way. And by golly, that's exactly what the New England Patriots accomplished Sunday at Gillette Stadium, somehow surviving against the big, bad Chicago Bears despite playing some of their absolute worst winning football ever.

"Any time you win after Thanksgiving, it's important, but there were way too many turnovers and that really held us back,'' offered Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, of his team's uninspiring 17-13 conquest of Chicago, which came complete with five New England turnovers and four costly penalties for 81 yards. "I think we moved the ball at times, but you have to take care of the ball. You can't win like this. This is luck today.''

Give Tom Terrific kudos for candor. Brady said what everyone else was thinking in the Patriots locker room. Ugly wins count too, but beating the Bears while simultaneously ensuring Chicago stayed in the game until the very end certainly felt like the quintessential hollow victory.

New England's long-awaited win against a quality opponent -- the Pats entered the game not having beaten a team that currently boasts a winning record -- prompted more cause for consternation than celebration, and it's not hard to understand why. It's nigh impossible to imagine New England adding to its over-crowded trophy case if this was the team's tone-setter for December and beyond.

The good news is the Patriots improved to 8-3, maintained its two-game lead over the Jets (6-5) in the AFC East, and also stayed within striking distance of the AFC's best teams: 9-1 Indianapolis, and 9-2 San Diego and Baltimore.

The bad news? Uh, did you see the game?

"I think I'd be a little more excited with this win if we hadn't turned the ball over so much,'' Patriots middle linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We've just got to play cleaner. I don't know if it's much of a springboard, like people are talking about, unless we play better.

"We scrapped and we won. But we're not playing our best football. To come out on top feels great, but we've got to work on all those mistakes.''

Remarkably, New England never trailed despite losing three fumbles and throwing two interceptions against the NFL's top-rated defense in terms of points allowed. And that's not even the worst part. Three of the Patriots turnovers were inside the Bears 20, and all five were in Chicago territory. Out of all that, the Bears could only muster a lousy seven points, repeatedly matching New England's generosity with four turnovers of their own.

For that, the Patriots can thank Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who continued his mistake-prone ways of late by having a hand in all four Chicago turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble lost), and New England cornerback Asante Samuel, who tied a team record by picking off Grossman three times.

"That isn't exactly the way you draw them up,'' Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of his team's unorthodox victory. "I'm sure neither team feels like they played their best football today. We had some guys step up and make some big plays at the right time. But it was almost overshadowed by the plays we didn't make.''