CHICAGO — Nathan Vasher didn't set a record this time — he set the tone.

One week after returning a missed field goal a record 108 yards, Vasher intercepted two passes, and the North-leading Bears stamped themselves as a contender in the NFC yesterday with a 13-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Chicago's sixth straight win.

"I'm playing as well as anybody," Vasher said. "Our defense is playing as good as — if not better — than anybody."

The Panthers (7-3) saw their six-game win streak end. After scoring at least 20 points in every game, they managed 238 yards against the NFL's No. 1 defense. Quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked eight times, three times by Adewale Ogunleye.

Vasher's first pick led to a 3-yard touchdown reception for former Panther Muhsin Muhammad, and the second resulted in a 33-yard field goal by Robbie Gould in the first quarter. The second-year pro has six interceptions.

Fred Miller started at right tackle for the Bears after missing last week's game with a broken jaw — the result of a punch to the face from center Olin Kreutz during an altercation at an FBI shooting range in the Chicago area on Nov. 7. The FBI launched an internal investigation into the incident.

"We've already put it behind us, you know," said Miller, whose jaw was starting to swell. "You guys still want to write about it and care about it. We had to go our there and win a ball game, no matter what. This is what we need to do to ultimately achieve goals of where we want to go."

Kreutz, a Saint Louis School alum from Honolulu, said he and Miller are still embarrassed and added there's "not a right or wrong guy in that whole situation. We're just both idiots."

SEAHAWKS 27, 49ERS 25

SAN FRANCISCO — Shaun Alexander rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and Seattle stopped San Francisco's 2-point conversion attempt with 28 seconds left for their sixth straight victory and an NFC-leading 8-2 record.

Matt Hasselbeck was 19 of 31 for 233 yards and one TD as the league's most prolific offense dominated the first three quarters, racking up 357 yards. The Seahawks matched the best start in franchise history, also accomplished in 1999 and 1984 — the last time they won a playoff game.

The 49ers are 2-8.

GIANTS 27, EAGLES 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, including a 61-yarder to Plaxico Burress late in the fourth quarter, as New York held off Philadelphia (4-6).

In place of Donovan McNabb, who is sidelined with a groin injury, third-string quarterback Mike McMahon ran for one touchdown and threw for another. It wasn't enough to stop the Giants (7-3) from surpassing their 2004 win total.

Manning finished 17 of 26 for 218 yards. Tiki Barber rushed 21 times for 112 yards for New York.

BUCS 30, FALCONS 27

ATLANTA — Derrick Brooks knocked the ball away from Falcons quarterback Michael Vick with just over a minute remaining, Tampa Bay recovered and Matt Bryant kicked a 45-yard field goal with 42 seconds left.

The Bucs (7-3) moved into a tie for first in the NFC South with Carolina. The Falcons (6-4) remained one game back after their second straight loss at home.

Vick threw for 306 yards — only the second 300-yard passing game of his career — and led five straight scoring possessions.

COWBOYS 20, LIONS 7

IRVING, Texas — Marion Barber III scored on a pair of short runs, Billy Cundiff kicked a franchise-record 56-yard field goal and Dallas (7-3) took advantage of 17 penalties for 129 yards to beat Detroit (4-6).

Barber scored on the opening drive, and the Cowboys (7-3) led the rest of the way for a third straight win and fifth in six games.

CARDINALS 38, RAMS 28

ST. LOUIS — Kurt Warner won his first game in the town where he produced a pair of Super Bowl teams, throwing three touchdown passes and leading Arizona (3-7) past St. Louis (4-6).

Warner was 27 for 39 for 285 yards.

The Rams took another blow to flagging playoff hopes and lost quarterback Marc Bulger, the man who replaced Warner in 2003, for the second time this season with a shoulder injury. Bulger, who missed two games earlier, left with a bruise late in the third quarter.