FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady outplayed Peyton Manning in the latest battle of the two great quarterbacks, and Brady’s New England Patriots cruised to their fifth consecutive victory, 43-21 over Manning’s Broncos on Sunday.

Brady threw four touchdown passes, and Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman caught one scoring pass and returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown.

New England (7-2) scored 24 second-quarter points, built a 27-7 halftime lead and never looked back. Denver (6-2) saw its four-game winning streak end. The Patriots got a leg up in a possible battle for playoff postseason. New England lost at Denver in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

Brady holds an 11-5 advantage in his battles with Manning, counting the postseason. A loud chant of “Brady’s better” rang out from the crowd in the fourth quarter.

Brady completed 33 of 53 passes for 333 yards Sunday, and he is 133 of 197 for 1,601 yards and 18 touchdowns during the winning streak. He was picked off in the second half, his first interception in 175 passes during the winning streak.

Edelman, who dropped four passes in the previous two games, caught nine for 89 yards.

Manning was 34 of 57 for 438 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions — the pick in the first half ending a streak of 132 passes without an interception. Much of his yardage was recorded with the game out of reach.

Running back Shane Vereen, wide receiver Brandon LaFell and tight end Rob Gronkowski caught the other Brady touchdown passes. New England’s Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals through the wind on a day that started stormy but ended just cold and windy.

Brady, making his 200th regular-season start, threw for enough yards to move past Denver great John Elway into fifth place on the NFL’s all-time list. His 62nd 300-yard game ties him with Brett Favre for fourth place at that list. It was also his 22nd four-TD game, moving him past Dan Marino into fourth place on that list.

The touchdown catch by Gronkowski, a 1-yarder after he made a circus catch at the 1-yarder, was his 50th in 59 career games. That tied him with Randy Moss for the second-fewest games needed to grab 50 touchdown catches. He also tied the club record for receiving TDs by a tight end and finished the day with nine catches for 105 yards, his 15th 100-yard game.

The Patriots have scored 201 points during their winning streak.

Manning, who hasn’t played his best football at Gillette Stadium, hit tight end Julius Thomas with an 18-yard touchdown pass to cut the Patriots’ lead to 27-14 in the third quarter. That gave Manning at least one scoring pass in 47 consecutive games, tying him with Johnny Unitas for the third-longest streak in NFL history.

For Thomas, it was his 10th touchdown catch of the season, making him the first Broncos tight end with back-to-back seasons of double-digit TD catches.

Denver wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders had 10 catches for 151 yards, and fellow receiver Demaryius Thomas picked up 127 yards on seven catches, extending his franchise record with his fifth straight 100-yard game.

Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman scored two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air, but kicker Brandon McManus had a 41-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright with his team down 20-7 in the second quarter. McManus, bothered by a groin problem through the week, entered the game 6-for-6 on the season, 2-for-2 from 40-49 yards.

Former Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker had three catches before leaving the game with a rib injury sustained in the third quarter. Denver linebacker Nate Irving had to be helped off the field with a knee injury in the fourth quarter.

NOTES: High winds kept the Patriots from covering the field with a tarp overnight and left the turf covered with snow. Precipitation cleared from the area but wind gusts up to 45 mph led to a wind advisory that ended in the fourth quarter. … RB Ronnie Hillman, who sustained a shoulder injury in practice Wednesday, started for the Broncos. Montee Ball missed his fourth straight game with a groin injury. … Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard was a healthy inactive for the second straight week. … Secretary of State John Kerry was a guest of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. … The Broncos opened a three-game road swing that continues at Oakland next week and ends at St. Louis. … The Patriots have their bye week before visiting the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 16. … The Patriots observed a pregame moment of silence for former Boston mayor Thomas Menino, who died Thursday.