Added duties made it a field day for Welker

For the second straight week, the Patriots used wide receiver Wes Welker as a kick returner. Welker had two returns for 55 yards in the Patriots' 48-27 win over the Cowboys Sunday.

He had a long return of 30 yards in the third quarter, but Le Kevin Smith was flagged for an illegal block below the waist, taking the ball back 10 yards.

Returning kicks is not unusual for Welker, who set career bests in catches (11), receiving yards (124), and touchdowns (two) against the Cowboys. He did it along with his punt return duties when he was a member of the Dolphins. Welker is Miami's all-time leader in both kick returns (170) and kickoff return yardage (3,858) and has one career kickoff return for a touchdown, with the Dolphins in 2004 against the Ravens.

Don't worry about Welker, who is second on the team in catches with 38 and is the team's primary punt returner, getting overworked. Last year with the Dolphins, he had 156 touches between offense and special teams, a mark that led all NFL wide receivers or specialists.

"Wes has returned kickoffs for us in other games and he returned punts and played," said coach Bill Belichick. "We have a lot of confidence in all of those guys. Kevin [ Faulk] returning. Wes returning. Ellis [Hobbs] returning. It would depend on game situations and sometimes the call. Whoever is back there, it's not a big thing."

Hobbs, who had an NFL-record 108-yard kickoff return in the Patriots' season-opening win over the Jets Sept. 9, leads the team with 15 kickoff returns for 442 yards (29.5 average).

No update on PUP list

Defensive end Richard Seymour, wide receiver Troy Brown, cornerback Eddie Jackson, and receiver Chad Jackson are all eligible to begin practicing after starting the season on the physically unable to perform list.

Players on the PUP list must sit out the first six weeks of the season. Teams have until the conclusion of the ninth regular-season weekend to start practicing players on PUP. Once the players start practicing the team has a 21-day evaluation window. Players must be activated during that period or by 4 p.m. on the day following the 21-day window.

Belichick was typically mum on the Patriots' plans. "No update. When we make that decision we'll let you know," he said.

Bumps and bruises

The Patriots stayed undefeated despite losing a few key players during the game. They lost tight end Benjamin Watson to a left ankle injury with 5:38 left in the first half, and running back Sammy Morris left the game on the second play of the opening possession of the second half because of a chest injury. Watson was replaced by Marcellus Rivers when the Patriots went to multiple tight-end sets, and Faulk stepped in as an every-down back to alleviate the absence of Morris.

Also, special teams contributor and reserve inside linebacker Eric Alexander limped off the field after making a tackle on the opening kickoff. An overeager Pierre Woods celebratory shove sent Alexander to the ground and he came up limping.

"We can't dwell on it, especially during a game," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi of the injuries. "When somebody goes down, it's, 'Who's next?' You have to go out there and substitute for someone on offense, defense, or special teams.

"It's 'OK, what do I have to do?' You can't worry about 'Oh no, somebody is down.' It's OK. It's your turn. You have to get the job done. We expect that."

Picking it over

With his fourth-quarter interception of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, linebacker Junior Seau set a career high with his third interception of the season. Seau, now in his 18th season, intercepted two passes in a 34-17 win over the Browns the week before. Six times Seau had picked off two passes in a season, the most recent 2000, when he was a member of the Chargers.

Terrific start

Quarterback Tom Brady set an NFL record with his five-touchdown performance against Dallas, becoming the first player to start a season by throwing three or more touchdown passes in his team's first six games. With 21 touchdown passes this season, Brady extended his streak of 20-TD pass seasons to six, the longest in franchise history. Last year, he threw 24 TD passes in 16 games . . . Patriots-Cowboys on CBS did an 18.5 rating with a 35 share nationally. The rating/share was the highest for a regular-season NFL game on CBS since the network re-acquired the rights to air NFL games in 1998. Locally, the game registered a whopping average rating of 36.0 with a 60 share . . . Kyle Brady's 1-yard touchdown catch against the Cowboys was his first TD since Nov. 20, 2005, when he scored against the Titans as a member of the Jaguars . . . Today at 4 p.m. is the NFL trading deadline.

Mike Reiss of the Globe Staff contributed to this report