(My Sportsbook) - Now that the New England Patriots have silenced the critics and proved themselves to be an AFC playoff contender, they will try to continue their recovery this Sunday when they travel to Champaign to face the struggling Chicago Bears.

Prior to the Patriots' 38-7 shellacking of Drew Bledsoe and the Buffalo Bills, many fans and media alike were starting to question whether the decision to keep Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady and dump Bledsoe was correct.

Brady made the Patriots' front office look brilliant in his matchup with Bledsoe, completing 23-of-27 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. In the process, the Pats put an end to their four-game losing streak.

"I thought he [Brady] did a good job. I thought he was really sharp. Charlie [Weis] did a great job play calling. Tom threw the ball well and made good decisions and ran the team well. Tom is a good quarterback," said head coach Bill Belichick.

After struggling with seven interceptions and only six touchdown passes during the four-game skid, Brady recovered with a nearly spotless effort against the Bills. The young signal-caller showed his maturity in shrugging off criticism and proving that he is a worthy starter for the Pats.

"We had four tough ones and we played four tough teams. It's important to fight back when it's not really going your way. Sunday we came out and from the first drive, we really set a pretty good tempo out there," said Brady.

"When your backs are up against the wall, you have two options. You can just stay there and let the teams stomp on you, or you can try to fight your way out of it. Last Sunday we fought our way out of it."

Brady did a nice job of spreading the wealth as he completed passes to eight different receivers in the contest. WR David Patten led the way with six catches for 88 yards, while TE Daniel Graham made three receptions for 68 yards and RB Kevin Faulk hauled in a pair of passes for 64 yards and a score.

The Patriots' plethora of capable receivers makes it hard for any defense to defend. New England ranks third in the AFC in passing offense, posting 261.6 yards per contest through the air.

The main reason that the Patriots' passing offense was so efficient against Buffalo was the fact that they finally established a running game with former Bill Antowain Smith. Weis decided to shelf his pass on every down philosophy and go to Smith on 29 occasions.

Smith responded with 111 yards and a touchdown rushing, while snagging five catches for 31 yards and two more scores through the air. The sixth-year pro was happy to get his chance to control the contest, but the spotlight isn't what he needs.

"Oh no. I don't need to steal the spotlight, not me. I don't need it, but I knew that I was going to be a big part of the game plan on Sunday," said Smith. "Just coming in and controlling the clock, get something going on the ground, and I think we came out here and did a pretty good job."

COMING UP: New England remains on the road next week against Oakland.