EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tom Brady was as giddy as the quarterback of an unbeaten and perhaps unbeatable team should be. Had Bill Belichick spotted him slapping the backs of his New England teammates, the dour coach might have scoffed.

After all, a perfect 16-0 regular season won't mean much if the Patriots don't win their next three games and another Super Bowl.

"We've been dealing with being undefeated all season," Brady said last night after the thrilling 38-35 victory over the New York Giants in a game worthy of the NFL's championship showcase. "It was kind of a strange game. It really doesn't mean much to either team, but it means a lot."

New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a Brady-engineered comeback from a 12-point deficit and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.

"Going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement," 1972 Dolphins coach Don Shula said. "I know firsthand how difficult it is to win every game, and just as we did in 1972, the Patriots have done a great job concentrating on each week's opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus. If they go on to complete an undefeated season, I will be the first to congratulate coach Belichick and the Patriot organization."

Validation of the Patriots' inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship. Do that, and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top.

"Hats off to us," said record-setting receiver Randy Moss, who caught Brady's 65-yard bomb for the go-ahead score that set two major records. "I know a lot of people didn't think we were going to do it. A lot of people didn't want us to do it.

"In this game of football, it's hard to go 16-and-0. As a football player and a fan of the game, my hat's off to this organization."

In gaining their 19th straight win over two seasons, the Patriots went on top 31-28 on Brady's 50th touchdown pass of the year and Moss' 23rd TD reception. It came with 11:06 left to play.

Brady beat Peyton Manning's mark of 49 touchdown passes and Moss broke Jerry Rice's record of 22 TD receptions. And the Patriots finished with an incredible 589 points for the season, another single-season record.

Once the victory was clinched, Belichick was barely more animated than usual. He shared hugs with players and assistant coaches on the sideline, but there was no thought of carrying him off on the Patriots' shoulders or dumping Gatorade all over him.

That will have to wait for three more wins — if they come.

"It's a great feeling," Belichick admitted. "Now is the time to take a day or two and appreciate what this team has done, but at the same time we have our biggest game of the year coming up. Pretty soon we need to turn the page and move on."

Who knows, the Patriots might even find the Giants on one of the next pages, especially if Eli Manning again resembles his vaunted older brother.

"We didn't win the game, but if you saw everybody in the locker room, everybody was excited," Manning said. "I never saw a locker room so upbeat after a loss because we played so well, did some good things and hung in there in a game where we didn't have to play. We wanted to. We wanted to come out and play well, and we did that."

The Giants (10-6), already guaranteed a playoff game against Tampa Bay next weekend and with little to play for except spoiling New England's perfect ride, led 28-16 in the third quarter. It was the Patriots' largest deficit all year as the Giants showed no fear and plenty of versatility, scoring the most points New England allowed in a game during this remarkable run.

Manning threw for four touchdowns and Domenik Hixon, in his first game as New York's primary kick returner, went 74 yards for a 14-7 lead 11 seconds after Brady and Moss tied their respective records to open the second quarter.

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