Patriots 24 – Dolphins 10

FOXBORO – He’s brilliant and bound for Canton and all, but Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is as colorful as the cement that holds up Gillette Stadium.

So when he gathered his team here late yesterday after it dispatched the Dolphins 24-10, its NFL record 19th straight win spanning the regular and postseasons, his first words shocked the players. Fresh off watching his Pats hop into history, Vanilla Bill broke character and encouraged his team to take pride.

“Bill acknowledged it,” said Pats linebacker Mike Vrabel with a shake of his head, as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Everybody kind of shook each other’s hands. And we clapped. For each other.”

The streak may be unofficial in the eyes of historians, but still deserved applause – it topped five other teams that had posted 18 straight wins. And if the Patriots tie an NFL record with their 17th consecutive regular-season victory next week vs. the Seahawks, they would be shooting to set a new mark when the Jets come calling in two weeks.

The players’ cheers also celebrated yesterday’s effort, which once more showed the sense of the team-first philosophy Belichick has preached since Pats owner Robert Kraft hired him 2000.

The team’s stars sputtered. With three receivers inactive, Tom Bradycompleted 7-of-19 passes (with two TDs and one INT) and 76 yards – the quarterback’s lowest statistical output in any of his 50 pro starts. And the Pats’ vaunted defense allowed 295 yards, 91 more than its offense earned.

But a few guys who don’t grace posters or fantasy lineups shined yesterday. Wide receiver Kevin Kasper, signed Wednesday off his sofa in Arizona, returned the opening kickoff 21 yards and played all four quarters on offense, tackling Patrick Surtain after his first-quarter interception.

Randall Gay, an undrafted rookie from LSU, intercepted Jay Fiedler’s third throw of the day and returned it to the Dolphins 30, setting up the Pats’ first touchdown.

And third-string tailback Rabih Abdullah, who last scored in a game that counted eight autumns ago as a Lehigh University senior, rumbled for a one-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“I just wanted to be a good player here,” Abdullah said. “I didn’t feel out of place. This was a good situation, and when they believe in you, it’s a great feeling.”

Players like this have defined this New England streak. Brady, remember, was an irregular starter at Michigan and went unpicked in the draft until No. 199.

Only two of yesterday’s five starting offensive linemen, a group that helped Corey Dillon to a 94-yard outing yesterday, were drafted at all.

The players insist that all the credit goes to Belichick, his eye for talent and the system here that allows seemingly ho-hum players to highlight each Sunday’s the box score. It’s why some Pats reveled when their coach, still soaked from a rare postgame Gatorade bath, relaxed for a moment.

“We feel like we have a great advantage every time we step on the field because of our plan,” Brady said. “When he congratulates you, you take it for what it is. . . . We’re just lucky to have such a great coach.”

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Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler left the game in the fourth quarter with a rib injury. A.J. Feeley replaced him for the Dolphins’ final two offensive plays, and promptly received a concussion from a hit by Rosevelt Colvin on the second one.