A sound second half performance coupled with a helping hand from Stoke took Chelsea to a 4-0 victory, while Tottenham dropped points at Loftus Road after being held to a goalless draw by Queens Park Rangers.
Two own goals from Jonathan Walters followed by a Frank Lampard penalty and an Eden Hazard strike gave the Blues a vital three points, which took them above Tottenham into third place on 41 points from 21 games.
A turgid first half at the Britannia saw Chelsea carve out the two best chances, with Lampard and then Demba Ba, starting in place of Fernando Torres, going close.
First Lampard nearly went into sole position as Chelsea's second all-time goalscorer, after finding space inside the box, but Asmir Begovic made a splendid save with his feet to keep the veteran's low strike out.
Ba then forced another save from the Stoke keeper, after holding off the challenge from Robert Huth.
The game seemed to be heading to a 0-0 scoreline at the end of the first half, but in the second minute of stoppage time, Chelsea took the lead fortuitously.
Stoke failed to clear the ball away from the danger area, allowing Cesar Azpilicueta to cross from the right, which Walters got on the end of with a diving header, but unfortunately, found his own net - it would have been a brilliant finish had it been at the other end.
Stoke started well in the second half, and looked like they might get an equalizer, when Chelsea got their second just past the hour. A corner from Juan Mata was headed into his own net yet again by Walters under pressure from Lampard.
Three minutes later, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after Mata went down rather easily inside the box. Lampard stepped up and blasted the ball into the roof of the net, and with it netting his 194th goal for the Blues, and moving to within eight of Bobby Tambling's all-time record of 202.
Hazard then made it 4-0 in the 73rd minute, with a moment of individual brilliance, smashing the ball into the top corner.
Walters' night was compounded when, after initially winning a spotkick off a foul from John Terry, who came on as a substitute, the forward smashed the ball into orbit from the penalty spot.
In the early game, Spurs huffed and puffed but rarely threatened to break the QPR house down in a 0-0 draw, with former Tottenham manager happy to settle for a point, in a game, which was dominated by the away side in terms of possession.
Results: QPR 0-0 Tottenham; Stoke 0-4 Chelsea; Sunderland 3-0 West Ham; Fulham 1-1 Wigan; Everton 0-0 Swansea; Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton; Norwich 0-0 Newcastle; Reading 3-2 West Brom.