Matt Cassel accomplished what few quarterbacks have, including his illustrious predecessor, Tom Brady.

Cassel passed for 415 yards Sunday to lead the New England Patriots to a 48-28 victory against the Miami Dolphins , making him the fifth quarterback in NFL history to pass for 400 or more yards in consecutive games.

Cassel joins Billy Volek, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino and Phil Simms in that august group. Brady, lost in the opener with a knee injury, has achieved that number once, as had three other Patriots passers. Cassel's 415 yards are the fifth-highest total in Patriots history.

"That's a pretty cool stat," Cassel said.

Here's another one: The Patriots, who lost earlier this season to the Dolphins, have not been swept by an AFC East opponent since 2000, when the Dolphins and New York Jets did it.

And one more: Their 530 yards of offense was second best in club history, behind the 597 piled up against the Jets in 1979. At 7-4, they trail the Jets by one game in the division.

Cassel said he had no idea which other quarterbacks had blown past 400 yards even once but, informed of the company he now keeps, noted, "That's a pretty cool crew."

Rest assured that the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3), who visit the Patriots on Sunday, will be even cooler. The Steelers rank first in the NFL in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense.

Hester pesters

The Chicago Bears gambled they could maximize Devin Hester's value by making their dangerous kick returner a starting receiver.

Not such a good bet. Hester has averaged 6.3 yards a punt return and contributed 31 catches (two for touchdowns).

The Bears (6-5) found more creative ways to use the flashy Hester in their 27-3 victory against the St. Louis Rams (2-9) after replacing him on the kickoff unit with Danieal Manning.

He ran 20 yards on a reverse on the Bears' first play from scrimmage. In a three-play sequence that set up Chicago's second touchdown, he ran 12 yards from Chicago's version of the Wildcat formation, which got him the ball on a direct snap, and he caught two passes for 35 yards.

"We wanted to open up the playbook and not be afraid to call anything," quarterback Kyle Orton said as the Bears remained tied for first in the NFC North.

"We started off with the reverse and it got us going, and he had some big catches for us as well."

Cautionary note: It came against the Rams, who rank 30th in the NFL in total defense. The Bears play the Minnesota Vikings, with whom they are tied, Sunday night in Minneapolis.

A Christmas Carol

Think of it as the 12 Plays of Christmas. Only they were lumps of coal in the Jacksonville Jaguars' stocking. Sing along now -- 12 miserable possessions, eight penalties accepted (four for holding on tackle Tony Pashos), five sloppy fumbles, four painful sacks, three fumbles lost, two interceptions, two field goals missed. Like most of the fans, the partridge left the pear tree early on Sunday.

The Jaguars, a playoff team last season, are 4-7 after their 30-12 home loss to the Vikings. They trailed 14-0 before two minutes had elapsed thanks to lost fumbles and finished with interceptions on their last two series. They've lost their last two games.

"You would have thought we drew things up with no practice," coach Jack Del Rio said.

The Jaguars built a reputation as a team with an attention to detail, but that's gone.

"Jack said he's never been part of a game that went down like that, and I haven't either," said quarterback David Garrard, who passed for 300 yards for the first time in his career but couldn't enjoy it.

Next for the ragged Jags: at the Houston Texans (4-7) on Monday.

The futile

crescent

The Oakland Raiders vented their pent-up frustrations in a 31-10 win vs. the Denver Broncos .

Unable to score in recent weeks, they produced three offensive touchdowns and one on a return. The highlight had to be rookie Darren McFadden's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to snap a 10-10 tie. Johnnie Lee Higgins' 89-yard punt return had more flair, but McFadden's score ended a terrible drought for the Raiders, who had gone 15 quarters, 45 drives and 206 plays between offensive touchdowns.

"It felt great to get out there and score some points," McFadden said. "To get on the board really gave us a boost."

The Raiders (3-8) snapped a four-game losing streak. They see a serious chance of adding a second consecutive victory Sunday at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (1-10), who have lost seven in a row and 19 of their last 20.

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