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SEATTLE - This must be what it was like in the final days of the dinosaurs.

The Chicxulub meteor has long since crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula. Clouds of ash and dust have covered the planet, blocking out the sun and starting the process that will wipe out nearly 70 percent of life on earth. And yet, the last survivors from among those who once ruled the planet continue to trudge on, desperately and valiantly trying to sustain themselves despite the inevitability of their fate.

A 24-21, come-from-behind victory over the 2-11 Seattle Seahawks is not the sort of result that instills confidence in the ability of the aging, wounded New England Patriots to restore their dynasty. But at least they're still alive - still battling, still marching on, regardless of how many body parts have been strewn across the road they've taken to reach this point.

"It was a great example of 60 minutes," Patriots' coach Bill Belichick said after the knock-down, drag-out contest at Qwest Field. "I thought our team really did a good job of hanging in there today. We didn't get off to a really good start, but they hung in there, they kept fighting ... just plugged away for 60 minutes and came out of there with a win. It's a real credit to the players, the way they fought in the fourth quarter on the road."

"The deeper you get into a season like this, it becomes more difficult for the coaches and players," said Seattle's retiring head coach, Mike Holmgren. "What I have tried to emphasize is the fact that we always fight to the end. This game showed that the players are giving me everything they've got." The Seahawks were in virtual command of the game for 57 minutes and 16 seconds, taking a 7-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first quarter on a 14-yard pass from Seneca Wallace to old friend Deion Branch, and holding that lead until Sammy Morris' fourth-down, 1-yard plunge with 2:44 to go and a two-point conversion pass from Matt Cassel (26-44. 268 yards, one TD) to Wes Welker (12 catches, 134 yards).

And even then, it wasn't over until a blitzing Brandon Meriweather stripped Wallace (starting in place of Norfolk native Matt Hasselbeck, sidelined with a sore back) of the ball for a 5-yard sack, and Richard Seymour recovered at the Seattle 49 with 1:54 to go.

Along the way, the Patriots lost another phalanx of players to injury, including Tedy Bruschi (knee), Vince Wilfork (shoulder) and James Sanders (ribs), and a brief departure for Mike Vrabel with a banged-up knee.

Along the way, two aging warriors who had been happily retired until a few days ago -Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin - were thrust from the street into the heat for long stretches of the game.

And along the way, the Jets lost (24-14 to the San Francisco 49ers), throwing the AFC East into utter chaos. The Jets, Patriots and Dolphins (16-3 winners over Buffalo in Toronto) are tied atop the division with three games left for each, and a myriad of tiebreaking procedures awaiting them.

The Patriots, now reduced to a shadow of their former championship selves defensively, are relying upon the depth at the bottom of the roster to keep them above water.

"We'll take stock of where we are heading into next week.," Belichick said. "Now, I'm not sure exactly what all that's going to be. But during a game, you've just got to go with what we have.

"And those guys stepped in: (Antwain) Spann, Mike Wright, Le Kevin (Smith), Junior, Rosey - a lot of guys ended up playing probably more than they thought would have. And they came through for us. You hate for that situation to come up, but it's good that they answered the bell."

The defense did its job in a fourth-quarter stop, when Meriweather dropped Maurice Morris for a 3-yard loss at a time when the Seahawks were building momentum following a couple of catches by John Carlson (eight catches, 69 yards). The Seahawks could manage only 3 more yards out of the drive.

The Patriots then took over at their own 29 with 8:47 left, and after a staggering start, Cassel got them moving in a positive direction. Three passes to Welker, the last for 25 yards to the Seattle 6, moved the Patriots into position to win. Cassel lost a yard on a late decision to run, but Kevin Faulk brought the ball down to the 1. On third down, Morris was stood up by local hero Lofa Tatupu, the former King Philip Warrior who led Seattle with eight tackles, but Morris took to the air on the final carry and found the end zone.

"We have a chance," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs, whose 55-yard kick return set up a second-quarter, 2-yard TD reception by Benjamin Watson. "Junior put it simply before the game, how he wanted to see those players out there that didn't know if they were going to get drafted or not, a bunch of rookies out there that are just playing on fire. That's what it's really coming down to the whole season. The last three games, everybody needs to play as if these are the last downs, because for this season, it is."

The Patriots, banged up as they were, never let the Seahawks put the game out of reach. After Branch's opening score, Stephen Gostkowski responded with a 50-yard field goal. Wallace opened the second quarter with a 10-yard pass to Carlson (who sidestepped Seau after the latter replaced the injured Bruschi) for a 14-3 lead, but Cassel's connection to Watson followed - a happy circumstance for Watson, who celebrated the pregnancy of his wife, Kirsten, by stuffing the ball under his shirt to simulate a baby bump and drew a 15-yard penalty for it - to keep things close at halftime.

Gostkowski's 42-yarder with 2:40 left in the third quarter cut the deficit to a point, but Branch juked Seau out of his shorts on a short pass and turned it into a 63-yard gain to the Patriots' 9. Two plays later, Wallace found Branch on a crossing pattern despite Hobbs' best effort, and the Seattle lead was 21-13.

"I thought he stepped out of bounds at first," said Wallace (20-28, 212 yards, three touchdowns). "But, God was on our side and he said that he didn't step out of bounds, and it was a big play for us."

Randy Moss, who went over the 13,000-yard plateau in the game, made his best contribution on a 33-yard catch leading to Gostkowski's 27-yarder with 12:19 left in the game. That left the old and the infirm to make the plays when they needed it -- and get a little help from the second-year Meriweather.

"Coach just made great adjustments," he said. "It wasn't anything major. Guys started playing, playing better techniques, doing exactly what Coach has taught. That's better than trying to do our own thing."

And somehow, the dinosaurs trudge on.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.