FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Patriots were lucky again Monday night. Damn lucky.

	Tom Brady soared again Monday night, throwing for 294 yards and three TDs.

They did not run the ball in the entire second quarter, they got two interceptions by Terrell Buckley, who wasn't even on the roster four days ago, and quarterback Tom Brady completed 16 of 25 passes -- in the first half.

Drew who? Dearly departed quarterback Drew Bledsoe had a nice game up in Buffalo on Sunday, but he lost, didn't he?

The terminally dissed Patriots, meanwhile, won.

They throttled the Pittsburgh Steelers and all their detractors in prime time, 30-14 -- it was 30-7, but the Steelers, for some reason, insisted on scoring as time ran out. New England forced an amazing five Pittsburgh turnovers, four of them by Kordell Stewart, the athlete formerly known as "Slash."

With just less than five minutes to play in third quarter -- with the score already 24-7 -- the folks in the Patriots' sound room could no longer resist. They punched up Queen's "We are the Champions" and the crowd of 68,436 at newly christened Gillette Stadium went slightly delirious.

And why not? Going back to the playoffs last year, the Patriots have now won 10 consecutive games, the league's longest win streak by, oh, nine games.

If he's smart -- and, the Wesleyan graduate seems to have proven himself in this respect -- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will invent slights and insults each week as his team prepares to play.

Respect -- did someone say respect?

"My advice to you guys is to keep it up," said Patriots cornerback Ty Law. "Keep picking against us and we'll keep getting fired up."

With that, Law pointed to a one-page printout that he had skewered on his locker hook. All seven ESPN analysts -- the Magnificent Seven: Sean Salisbury, Mark Malone, Joe Theismann, Mike Golic, Mark Schlereth, Merrill Hoge and Ron Jaworski -- had picked the Steelers.

Law had highlighted their choices in yellow.

"Keep it up," he added.

Now, Gillette Stadium is roughly a Drew Bledsoe heave from quaint Foxboro Stadium, the far-and-away worst stadium in the NFL until it was razed after the Tuck Rule was redefined in last year's "Snow Game." The old building had 22 bathrooms and 167 Port-a-Johns, while the new building has 60 bathrooms and zero Port-a-Johns. So, who says bigger is better?

The rambling cinderblock mess cost all of $6 million to build, or a mere $319 less than the sprawling state-of-the-art stadium that began its life as CMGI Field. But even before the gala opening, CMGI -- an ill-fated Internet company (or is that redundant?) -- bailed from its naming rights contract and the razor company cut right in.

The Steelers, too, have been socially, if not morally bankrupt. After losing to the Patriots 24-17 in last year's AFC title game, they have been the epitome of poor losers, suggesting, among other things, that the Patriots were lucky to win. Sure, the Patriots scored two touchdowns on specials teams that day, and, yeah, they produced only three offensive touchdowns in three playoff games, but they did beat the Raiders, Steelers and, finally, the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Respect, or a lack of it, has been the mantra of the exhibition season. Belichick gave his players T-shirts that featured the league's "current standings." Each team, including the Patriots, was listed at 0-0.

ESPN enlisted Rodney Dangerfield, the perpetually disrespected comic, to document the taunts and teases the Patriots endured during the offseason.

After banging their running game into the wall that was the NFL's best defense a year ago -- overall and against the run -- the Patriots went to their no-huddle, no-run offense in the second quarter, with modest results. Brady completed those 16 of 25 -- a good game for him last year -- but for a total of only 109 yards.

That New England went to the locker room with a 10-7 lead was largely due to Stewart's generous back-to-back interceptions to Buckley and Mike Vrabel. The latter led to a 4-yard touchdown from Brady to tight end Christian Fauria.

Pittsburgh head coach Bill Cowher, sporting a close-cropped beard and looking something like a cross between Abraham Lincoln and Prince -- a serious Amish look -- glared on the sideline.

Perhaps it was all just an elaborate ruse, because the Patriots came out throwing in the second half. Brady lofted a Bledsoesque parabola to David Patten who made a nice 37-yard catch down the right sideline. On the next play, Brady hit Donald Hayes with a 15-yard hitch, but Pittsburgh's Dewayne Washington missed the tackle and Hayes, with help from a crushing block from fellow receiver Deion Branch, had a 40-yard touchdown.

Now it was 17-7 and Cowher's glare had developed laser capacity.

The Steelers responded, uh, with a fumble by Jerome Bettis. Victor Green, another Belichick acolyte who was picked up from the Jets, forced and recovered the fumble and soon Brady was throwing another touchdown pass, this time to the rookie Branch. With 7:03 left in the third quarter, it was 24-7.

After Tebucky Jones tipped another Stewart pass and Buckley snagged his second interception, Adam Vinatieri kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it 27-7. There were still more than 17 minutes left in the game.

Cowher? Don't ask.

Vinatieri's 27-yard field goal with 9:32 remaining made it 30-7.

After Willie McGinest's helmet-to-helmet sack appeared to knock the ball loose from Stewart for a sixth turnover -- and Roman Phifer appeared to return the ball for another touchdown -- Cowher ran out onto the field to protest. He ultimately was right, but he got flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Steelers, perhaps unaware they had been three-point favorites, made every effort to score their second touchdown as time ran out. It took them two minutes and 55 seconds and Stewart barely grazed the goal line as time ran out. The Patriots, of course, were incensed.

Certainly, they'll use that as a motivational tool as well.

During the endless preseason, the Patriots have politely acknowledged people's doubts and quietly insisted they are actually a better team than they were a year ago. Now, it appears they were not blowing smoke. A difficult schedule -- featuring games at Chicago, Oakland, Tennessee and San Diego -- might bring them back to earth eventually, but on this night they bordered on the magical.

"Who did you pick?" asked Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi.

Uh…

"Listen, we hunkered down and played as a team -- just like last year. Offense, defense and special teams. We don't have any superstars, but we are a team."

A damn good team.

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.