FOXBORO -- Don't let the statistics fool you.

On paper, the Patriots' Corey Dillon recorded only 25 yards on 9 carries Sunday, his longest being a 6-yard run. The important thing for the veteran running back was his ability to bulldoze the Detroit Lions' defense and score three touchdowns to propel New England to its 28-21 victory.

Sure, some of his teammates put up better numbers and were crucial as the Patriots improved to 9-3, but Dillon's performance did not go unnoticed in the locker room.

"It doesn't matter what the numbers say on the stat sheet," said running back Kevin Faulk. "As long as the `W' is on this side, that's it."

Other than the victory and the three TDs, Dillon's 25 yards may not seem overly impressive, but in the end it was.

The 10-year veteran became the 15th player in NFL history to amass 11,000 career rushing yards, and is the only active player in the league with more than 10,000 yards. While Emmitt Smith's all-time leading mark of 18,355 yards is out of reach, Dillon now has O.J. Simpson (11,236) in his sights.

Since coming to New England at the start of the 2004 season, Dillon has scored 34 touchdowns in 39 games. Even though he was a no-show in the locker room after the game -- not that he would have talked anyway -- his teammates were ready to step up and back their back.

Dillon isn't the only Patriots player to reach a milestone this season; record-breaking performances seem to be contagious in New England of late.

On Nov. 5 against Indianapolis, wide receiver Troy Brown became the team's all-time leading receiver. With his eight catches Sunday, Brown stands with 552 receptions.

Against Chicago, Faulk became the Patriots' all-time leader in receptions by a running back. With his 8 grabs Sunday, Faulk has 270 for his career.

Also against the Bears, Tom Brady became the team's all-time leader with wins for a quarterback. He now has 77.

"It really kind of goes back to coach (Bill) Belichick and Scott (Pioli)," said fullback Heath Evans. "They compile not only a good group of character guys, but the guys who have accomplished so much throughout this league. These guys are all class acts, and it was good to see Corey hit that mark today. It's awesome and it's awesome being in the same backfield as him."

While rookie running back Laurence Maroney (a combined 169 touches rushing and receiving) is getting the ball more often than Dillon (a combined 138) this season, the veteran picked up the slack on Sunday when Maroney went down with an injury and did not return.

"It speaks volumes," said Faulk. "A lot of guys on this team are leaders without speaking; they lead by example. That's what I like about this team. You don't have too many getting in your face saying, `You have to do this.' It's moreso, `Look what I'm doing on the field. Look at what I'm doing in here with film study.' Those are the types of guys we have in here."

In a small way, Dillon was huge Sunday.