A linebacker caught a touchdown pass, a kicker threw one and a wide receiver had three tackles in the secondary.

Yes, Bill Belichick was back in his most creative form Sunday as New England bounced back with a 40-22 win in St. Louis a week after its record 21-game winning streak was broken in Pittsburgh.

That should be some consolation for Philadelphia, which had its own unbeaten string snapped by those same Steelers and can now look forward to its own bounceback.

The last two weeks changed the Super Bowl picture only marginally, adding Pittsburgh to the Eagles and Patriots as the NFL’s pre-eminent teams at the season’s halfway mark.

Yes, some upstart (San Diego?) could get into the picture, but on both form and substance, those three teams, all 7-1, are easily the best in the NFL as the second half starts.

“We lost for the first time in 22 games and you would have thought we were finished,” New England’s Rodney Harrison said after Belichick’s creativity helped them pummel the Rams.

Mike Vrabel caught a touchdown pass (shades of the Super Bowl), Adam Vinatieri threw one and Troy Brown had three receptions and three tackles as an extra DB on a team without its top three cornerbacks.

The Eagles might have the easiest route to the Super Bowl despite the 27-3 loss that exposed what could be a fatal weakness down the line – run defense. They are allowing almost 131 yards a game after Pittsburgh ran for 252, 149 by Jerome Bettis, who demonstrated that when fresh he can still run at 32 the way he could at 22.

There’s no depth behind Philadelphia in the NFC unless Atlanta and Seattle play more consistently. The Seahawks’ good offensive game against 1-7 San Francisco means nothing unless they back it up. The Rams and Giants were exposed Sunday as impostors and Minnesota got its comeuppance from New York a week ago.

In fact, the most obvious evidence of the nature of the NFL this season comes from favorites going 5-8 on Sunday – not against the spread, but for real.

“You have to accept it. that’s the NFL these days,” said the Giants’ Kurt Warner after New York zoomed to a 14-0 lead against Chicago in the first 10 minutes, then went to sleep. And the Giants were at home playing against a rookie quarterback, Craig Krenzel, making his second NFL start.

You accept it unless you’re Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or New England.

Steelers have edge

The Steelers vaulted to the top of the conference and have a home-field tiebreaker over New England because they beat the Patriots a week ago. Their next two games are on the road against division opponents Cleveland and Cincinnati.

That could be letdown time. But as long as Pittsburgh can run as it did against the Eagles and Patriots, the shockingly effective rookie Ben Roethlisberger will remain comfortable at quarterback. The Steelers are averaging a league-leading 161 yards per game on the ground, allowing them to minimize high-risk plays.

As for Roethlisberger, on Sunday he evaded rushers, rolled right, then threw back across the middle to tight end Jay Riemersma for a 2-yard touchdown. “Late across the middle” is supposed to be a no-no for QBs, but Roethlisberger is so strong and surprisingly fast that he can get away with it.

The Patriots’ 18-point win Sunday represented their second biggest margin in two years – only a 31-0 victory over Buffalo in the regular-season finale last year surpassed it. One reason could have been the loss in Pittsburgh. Winning streaks have their own internal pressure and losing may have been the most effective way to relieve it.

Can anyone challenge the Patriots or Steelers?

Baltimore, perhaps, if it can get any offense. But at 5-3, the Ravens probably can’t catch Pittsburgh in the North, although they did hand the Steelers their only loss in the second week. That was BB: Before Ben.

Or maybe San Diego, featuring the improbable tandem of Drew Brees and Antonio Gates, the basketball player turned tight end. Actually, that combo shouldn’t be a surprise: Brees was kind of a point guard in a basketball-like offense at Purdue.

The rest? Denver seems too erratic; Indianapolis has no defense; Houston and Jacksonville are too green and the 6-2 Jets (speaking of green) will be without quarterback Chad Pennington from two to four weeks with a rotator cuff injury.

Eagles should bounce

The Eagles are likely to bounce back the same way New England did. The monkey is off their back and Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens can become friends again. They’ve got no problem in their division. Even before they played so badly Sunday, the Giants (5-3) weren’t a serious threat to them and New York lost Michael Strahan for the season in that loss.

Atlanta (6-2) may have the best shot if Michael Vick plays as he did a week ago in Denver and begins combining his incredible skills with knowledge of the West Coast offense. But it’s still hard to forget the Falcons’ 56-10 loss in Kansas City.

Seattle (5-3) will probably win the West, but the Seahawks need more defense and a consistent Matt Hasselbeck to challenge Philly.

Any dark horses?

Green Bay (4-4). Brett Favre still has some magic left and tackle Grady Jackson’s return has made the run defense better. Minnesota tends to fade late, so the Packers could still win the North.

But this almost has to be Philly’s year.