Brady heats up in the brutal cold

Wind. Snow. Bone-chilling cold.

It was all there, plain as the eye could see and for the skin to feel for the 62,347 fans and 53 Bears who braved and played in the brutal conditions Sunday at Soldier Field.

Somebody, though, forgot to tell Tom Brady and the Patriots that they wouldn't be able to throw the ball, execute their offense or put up more than 20 points against a Brian Urlacher-led Bears defense.

Brady, Wes Welker, Deion Branch and Co. came out and played like it was 70 degrees with no wind during a 36-7 thumping of the Bears.

“I have no idea how he does what he does,” said Patriots left tackle Matt Light of Brady.

All Brady did was complete 27 of 40 passes for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns on a day with 53-mph wind gusts and blowing snow all over the field. Brady has thrown 29 TD passes and just 4 interceptions in what is shaping up as an MVP-caliber campaign.

“Their skill positions probably (aren't) as good a group as he's had in the past, but he's still completely dominating,” Bears QB Jay Cutler said. “It's tough to watch when you're going against him because he is so good.”

The Patriots said they knew the conditions would be somewhat difficult, but to a man they didn't feel like they couldn't run their offense.

Brady and Branch both admitted that constantly practicing outside in conditions much like Sunday's is a big reason why the team is so prepared to play in inclement weather.

“We really don't want to be outside practicing in this kind of weather. But we do it anyway,” said Branch, who finished with 151 yards on a 8 receptions.

Added Brady: “They don't cancel football games very often. It's not like baseball, and we don't play in San Diego all the time. Whatever the elements are, we've got to be mentally tough enough to play in them.”

From the get-go, New England (11-2) mixed in four- and five-receiver sets, completing short and medium passes underneath the Bears' zone coverage.

The first scoring drive went 85 yards in 12 plays and included clutch completions to Welker (8 catches, 115 yards) on third-and-10 and a 16-yard strike to Branch on third-and-12.

The next drive also went for a TD as New England marched 87 yards in 11 plays to make it 14-0.

What may have shocked many fans and pundits was the fact that Brady dropped back on 15 of New England's first 22 plays.

“There was one time Tom threw to me I thought I was going to have to jump for it and it ended up coming down to my belly area,” Welker said. “There were some gusts out there that made it tough at times, but we were able to work through it.”

By halftime, Brady had outgained Cutler through the air 195-28, the Patriots' running backs had an 80-19 edge on the ground, and they had 15 first downs to the Bears' 2.

The proverbial nail in the coffin probably was Gary Guyton's fumble return for a touchdown that made it 21-0, but just in case there was any doubt Brady torched Charles Tillman on the last play of the half on a 59-yard TD to Branch for a 33-0 lead.

“It was a chess match,” said Bears safety Chris Harris, “and he said, ‘Checkmate.'”