Patriots 28, Lions 21

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Corey Dillon saved the sloppy Patriots from a stunning upset.<br/><br/>His 3 short touchdown runs overcame 10 penalties, 4 turnovers and a safety and New England edged the Detroit

Sunday, December 3rd 2006, 3:37 pm

By: News On 6

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Corey Dillon saved the sloppy Patriots from a stunning upset.

His 3 short touchdown runs overcame 10 penalties, 4 turnovers and a safety and New England edged the Detroit Lions 28-21 Sunday. The Patriots didn't lead in the 2nd half until Dillon scored on a 4-yard run with 2:33 left.

Mike Vrabel's interception, his second of the game, sealed the victory against the team with the NFL's worst record over the last six years.

The Patriots (9-3) struggled against a team that had nine losses one week after they beat a team with nine wins on the same field in a 17-13 win over the Chicago Bears. New England also had trouble hanging onto the ball then, winning despite committing 5 turnovers.

But against Detroit (2-10), the Patriots managed to pull this one out after Mike Wright recovered Jon Kitna's fumble at the Lions 32 on a sack by Rosevelt Colvin with 5:57 to go. Tom Brady then threw 4 consecutive completions before handing the ball to Dillon, who just got into the left side of the end zone.