Tedy Bruschi didn't mind being on the sidelines. The leader of the Patriots defense watched Corey Dillon run for two 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter that took New England to a 21-16 win over the Buffalo Bills.

Bruschi returned to the gridiron 8.5 months after suffering a mild stroke and an operation for a hole in his heart. But on Sunday night he started at inside linebacker just eleven days after returning to practice.

With 5:30 left, Rosevelt Colvin stripped the ball from quarterback Kelly Holcomb and recovered at the Bills 23. Brady then hit Deion Branch with a 22-yard completion, and Dillon, who missed the previous game with an ankle injury, scored the winning touchdown.

"I see Rosevelt Colvin making a play to win the game," said Bruschi . "He was the guy tonight and, hopefully, there will be other guys that do that many times for the rest of the year."

Sunday's Week 7 NFL Games:

• Green Bay at Minnesota, 1 p.m
• Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m.
• New Orleans at St. Louis, 1 p.m.
• Denver at N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m.
• Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
• San Diego at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
• San Francisco at Washington, 1 p.m.
• Dallas at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.
• Baltimore at Chicago, 4:15 p.m.
• Buffalo at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.
• Detroit at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
• Tennessee at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.

Patriots Tedy Bruschi has seen four specialists before deciding to return to the game. The next three weeks will be Bruschi's training camp as he gets into playing shape. Nov. 7 Monday night game against the Colts could be his target return date..

Indianapolis are still undefeated after last night and made history in the process as they stormed back from an early seventeen point deficit to crush the St. Louis Rams 45-28.

The Colts equalled the 6-0 mark of their 1958 championship team for the best start in franchise history, also, Peyton Manning and receiver Marvin Harrison clicked for their 86th touchdown. That moved them ahead of the 49ers' Steve Young and favorite target Jerry Rice as the NFL's most potent scoring duo.

Bruschi suffered a mild stroke at his home in February, less than ten days after the Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years. He was rushed to the hospital after complaining of numbness in his left arm and leg.

The Boston Globe reported last month that doctors believe the stroke was the result of a blood clot that traveled through a small hole in his heart. He had surgery in March to repair the hole.

Bruschi is apparently keen to return to the fray and help out a defence that has been hit hard by injuries.

The Patriots (3-2) play their sixth game on Sunday in Denver.

Does choosing old coaches with decent records pay off? Try reaching into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or its list of contenders, then build your team with an experienced coach with a good Super Bowl record. It might work.

The NFL's oldest coaches are Chiefs' Dick Vermeil (69 this month), Redskins' Joe Gibbs (65 next month) and Cowboys' Bill Parcells (64). All of them crossed paths as head coaches in the early 1980s in the NFC East, — Vermeil was with Philly, Gibbs with Washington and Parcells with the Giants.

They managed to win six Super Bowl titles between them but none with their current teams.

The Cowboys started quickly and didn't rest in a 33-10 victory that ended Philly's winning streak at 10 and opened up the division. The last time a divisional rival beat the Eagles it was Dallas, also at Texas Stadium, 23-21 - two years ago.

Bill Parcells stated that it was his team's "best game" in his three seasons in charge. This was backed up by the run of the game - the Cowboys scored on six of their first seven possessions, they outgained the Eagles 456-129, allowed no rushing first downs, held their opponents to 19 yards on the ground and held the ball for 40 minutes, 43 seconds.

Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter summed it up - "We got whupped in every phase."

For the New England Patriots, things could be better. They are now .500 and struggling with injuries. They gave up over 40 points (41) to San Diego last week - the first time they have surrendered that many since 1998 against - yep, Atlanta....whom they face on Sunday.

Bet on the Game!

Favre rallied the Packers on Monday night. With his team down 32-13 in the 4th quarter, he came back with two scoring passes and a couple of two-point conversions to make it 32-29 with just over three minutes remaining.

With running back Ahman Green sidelined with an hurt knee and zero timeouts, Favre was forced to do it all on his own when Green Bay got the ball back with two minutes remaining. Green Bay drove to Carolina's 41 but Favre then threw an incompletion on fourth down and the Packers turned the ball over on downs. 32-29 was the final score.

Favre finished 23-47 for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns. In games of four or more touchdown passes, Favre is now in second place to Dan Marino, who has a record 21.