Patriots Almost Rally For A Once-In-A-Lifetime Win, Fall Short Against 49ers 41-34

It's hard to know where to start when recapping what had to be the most exciting game of the 2012 NFL regular season. San Francisco built up a 31-3 lead in the third quarter, only to see New England rattle off 28 straight points and tie it at 31 in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers (10-3-1, 5-2 away) clinched a playoff berth with a completely absurd 41-38 victory at Gillette Stadium over the Patriots (10-4, 5-2 home) in the wind and freezing rain. New England went from looking completely overmatched to unstoppable in the span of a quarter. It turned out that the awful start by them came back to bite them, like a basketball team that makes a huge comeback but then falls short.

This win validates San Francisco as the team to beat in the NFC and the NFL too as far as I'm concerned. It could prove to be a particularly costly loss for New England since they lost their firm grip of the No. 2 seed in the AFC and now it looks like they are destined to be No. 3 at best barring an unlikely loss by the Broncos in the final two weeks.

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (14 of 25 for 216 yards, 4 TDs, INT; 28 yards rushing) made his head coach Jim Harbaugh look smart in choosing him over Alex Smith. Tom Brady (36 of 65 for 443 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) carried the Patriots on his back when it appeared hopeless. Still, New England fell to 0-2 against the Harbaughs this season and 1-3 vs. the NFC West as they saw their seven-game win streak overall and 21-game home win streak in December both snapped.

Michael Crabtree (7 catches, 107 yards, 2 TDs) and Frank Gore (21 carries, 83 yards; 2 catches, 34 yards) were the main weapons for Kaepernick although he also spread it around with touchdowns to Delanie Walker and old friend Randy Moss. San Francisco's top-ranked defense held New England's top-ranked offense to a season-low three points in the first half.

The Patriots finally found some success in the second half when Brady sped up the tempo and went no-huddle. Brandon Lloyd (10 catches, 190 yards) had his best game for New England while Danny Woodhead (61 yards rushing, 23 yards receiving, 2 TDs) surprisingly enough was their best running back. Aaron Hernandez (10 catches, 92 yards, TD) and Wes Welker (5 catches, 56 yards) started off slow but in the second half, they also began to find bigger holes in San Francisco's tired defense. The Pats ran 92 plays and racked up 520 total yards.

The main reason that New England came up short (besides the huge deficit) is they lost the turnover battle (4-2) and committed more penalties (8-6). It is rare to see them come out on the wrong side of either of those statistics so when they get beat in both, doubly so. San Francisco actually fumbled six times, including four by Kaepernick but they only lost one whereas New England lost both of theirs (by Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen). Ridley's confidence has to be shaken since he nearly fumbled earlier in the game but he was ruled down.

Moss's 24-yard touchdown catch was the only score of the first quarter. Stephen Gostkowski cut it to 7-3 with a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter. Walker caught a 34-yard touchdown and David Akers's 20-yard field goal was the last play of the first half as the 49ers took a stunning 17-3 lead into the locker rooms.

Devin McCourty picked off Kaepernick to start the second half but New England couldn't take advantage as Ridley fumbled it back to them. Luck was on Kaepernick's side as he fumbled another snap early in the third quarter but Gore picked it up then ran seven yards for a touchdown. Aldon Smith picked off Brady on the next play after he rushed a throw to Hernandez and the supposed rout was on as Kaepernick threw a 27-yard touchdown to Crabtree on the following play.

The Pats chipped away as Woodhead's 6-yard touchdown run gave them their first touchdown with 5:59 left in the third quarter, trailing 31-10. Brady jumped over the pile from a yard out to cut it to 31-17 on the first play of the fourth quarter. After a San Francisco 3-and-out, New England made it a one-score game on Hernandez's 5-yard touchdown catch. Woodhead tied it at 31 with a 1-yard run of his own.

LaMichael James returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards-the play of the game-and the 49ers regained all the momentum they had lost with a 38-yard touchdown catch by Crabtree on the first play after that. The Patriots had to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 12 but Brady couldn't connect with Woodhead. From there, it was a matter of field goals (28 yards by Akers; 41 yards by Gostkowski) for the final margin. New England got a chance to take an onside kick but it didn't get that good bounce so Walker grabbed it easily.

After the thrills of back-to-back primetime games (Monday night and Sunday night), the Patriots can take a siesta the next few weeks as they travel to Jacksonville next Sunday afternoon (1 p.m., CBS) to face the hideous Jaguars (2-12, 4th AFC South). That's followed by the regular season finale, at Gillette vs. Miami (6-8, 3rd AFC East) on Sunday, December 30. So yeah, time to get your Christmas shopping done and if you miss the next two games due to the holidays, it honestly isn't the end of the world.

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Welcome back Deion

Last night, what had been whispered for days officially came through: former Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch is back with the Patriots.

The Seattle Seahawks basically dumped him (sound familiar Randy Moss?) for only a fourth-round draft pick in exchange.

Branch was drafted in 2002 by New England and in his four seasons with the Patriots, they won two Super Bowls while he proved himself to be a big time wide receiver that always shows up when the stakes are their highest.

Naturally, the local knuckle dragging Belichick sycophants love the move and I can't say I disagree with them. However, we have to keep in mind two things: 1) Branch is 31 and he has only played 16 games in a season once (2005, his last with the Pats) and 2) he wasn't even playing in Seattle anymore.

I will give him the benefit of the doubt since Seattle has been a mess the last few seasons and the fact that they paid him (and pictured him) as a No. 1 receiver is beyond laughable. Branch is the definition of a system guy and when he was with Tom Brady, he was teamed up with the perfect type of quarterback.

There's a reason Brady and Branch are BFFs and Brady reportedly texted him last week when he knew Moss was done in New England. The good news is that Branch doesn't have to be a savior (unlike Moss in Minnesota) and there's plenty of other weapons around him: Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead, etc. to ensure that he doesn't have to put up fantasy numbers right away.

Branch is a classy professional and he should be a good mentor for all the young talent on the Patriots. He is a key to the storied past but hopefully he still has something left to give to this team which can use anything he's got.

So long homey

Crazy stuff coming out of Foxborough today as the Patriots traded star wide receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round draft pick in 2011.

It ended a three plus year stay in New England for Moss, who came here in a shocking draft day deal in 2007 from the Oakland Raiders (for the pittance of a fourth round draft pick).

He had 50 touchdowns in 52 regular season games, including his record setting 2007 (98 catches, 1493 yards, 23 touchdowns) where he put up video game numbers.

The team choked in the 2008 Super Bowl vs. the Giants and then got progressively worse the next few seasons since Tom Brady got hurt and in the last few season's, they tried to force the deep ball to Moss way too much.

Getting a third round pick in return seems like way too little compensation but obviously Bill Belichick and the Patriots felt like it was time to cut bait with Moss who is in a contract year but so far has done little in four games this season (9 catches, 139 yards, 3 touchdowns).

Going to the Vikings make sense for Moss since with uberclown Brett Favre still hanging around there, they'll be throwing his cherished deep ball 10 times a game. It will add up to some wins and highlights but when it counts, this ensures even further than Minnesota won't win the Super Bowl this season or as long as both Favre and Moss are there.

The fine folks in Minnesota are embracing Moss (who played there from 1998-2004) just like they have jumped onboard with Favre the last two summers. Too bad they're being hoodwinked by these two bozos.

The Patriots die-hards that never question anything Belichick for anything he does for once in their lives are getting objective. Nobody likes the deal save for Moss critics like Mike Felger.

So here we are. It's the Patriots' bye week but this is one of the biggest stories in the 2010 NFL season and to think it all started with rumors on Twitter yesterday that I thought were a joke.

Best of all, Moss will be right back in the spotlight on Monday as the Vikings take on the New York Jets in Monday Night Football. I'll shamelessly admit that I have Moss on a fantasy football team and I think this dramatically improves his value. Also on my side, I have tickets to see the Vikings-Patriots game at Gillette Stadium on Halloween. That was already a juicy game but now it takes on much more significance.

With the Moss deal, the Pats now have two picks in the first four rounds of the 2011 draft.

One of the most pathetic wins you'll ever see

Due to some problems connecting to the Internet today, I had more time to digest the Patriots-Bills game from yesterday before I put my thoughts online.

Nothing changed as the did that really happen question lingered in my head.

Yes the Pats (2-1) won 38-30 at Gillette Stadium against the Bills (0-3) but it's hard to remember a much less satisfying win.

Sure New England's offense looked great and I couldn't be happier to have Danny Woodhead on our side but could the defense be any worse?

Today Buffalo released Trent "Captain Checkdown" Edwards and you know why he was expendable? Because former Harvard star Mark Zuckerberg I mean Ryan Fitzpatrick torched them for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

If he didn't throw two terrible picks in the fourth quarter, the Bills might have snapped their 13-game losing streak to the Patriots but here we are.

Ridiculous haircut not withstanding, Tom Brady can still tear it up (especially against the sisters of the poor) to the tune of 252 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The good news for Pats fans is that the offense looks potent, at least when they're not playing the Jets and throwing it deep to Moss on every play.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis got the start and he had his best regular season game in almost two years with 98 yards rushing on 16 carries. The aforementioned Woodhead made his Patriots debut, carrying the ball three times for 42 yards, including a 22-yard run.

Moss only had two catches but they both went for touchdowns, Aaron Hernandez had a team-high six catches and 65 yards, Wes Welker caught four balls for 45 yards and Rob Gronkowski had 42 yards receiving and another touchdown.

As good as the offense looked, the defense was equally head-scratching and just plain awful, making the Bills (one of the worst teams in the league with one of the most wretched offenses) look like the Colts.

Rian Lindell, the Bills' excellent kicker, gave Buffalo an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Brady responded with a 7-yard touchdown to Moss that was too easy.

After another 39-yard field goal by Lindell, Buffalo went ahead in the second quarter thanks to a 5-yard catch and run from Fitzpatrick to rookie running back C.J. Spiller.

Woodhead provided what will surely be one of the most memorable plays of the season with his 22-yard score in the second quarter, which gave New England a 14-13.

The tiny running back that won over America this summer during Hard Knocks with the Jets proved that he has some serious game. Plus with Kevin Faulk done for the season, he could very well have a role on this team.

Lindell's 34-yard field goal put the Bills up 16-14 right before the half but Stephen Gostkowski hit a 43-yarder as time ran out in the first half.

As everyone knows, the second half has been a twilight zone for this team last season and so far this season, sadly yesterday was no exception.

Brady and Moss connected again on the first drive of the second half, a 35-yard dart between a couple Bills defenders.

On the ensuing kickoff, Spiller went 95 yards for the score. The terrible angles and tackle attempts that plague the Pats' defense was evident on the return. That shouldn't be a surprise since many of the same starters play special teams too. Yikes!

Gronkowski's 5-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter put New England up 31-23 and Green-Ellis added to that with his 7-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

The fact that the Patriots couldn't finally step on Buffalo's throats then and end it is horrifying enough. Some clown named Steve Johnson caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick and after a three-and-out, the Bills got the ball back with the chance to tie it.

Is this real life? For the second time, the Patriots' defense made a play or more accurately caught an interception that was thrown right at them. Patrick Chung (7 tackles) had the first one and Brandon Meriweather closed it out with the second one.

Jerod Mayo also made an appearance, recording a sack (the second of his career, really?) and nine tackles, six solo.

Even though the Jets (2-1) won in Miami on Sunday night, the Dolphins (2-1) proved that they are on the same level as New York and probably a step ahead of the Pats.

New England heads to Miami on Monday night for what should be a very tough road game. In the past decade when the Dolphins were miserable, they always seemed to give New England problems and now they're a legitimate contender in the AFC East.

Jets repeat as Week 2 Super Bowl champions

There is no sport that clings to cliches like football, perhaps because so many of its players, coaches and announcers have suffered so many head injuries but I digress.

One of my current favorites that I truly believe is that the team with more urgency usually wins. Therefore yesterday's 28-14 by the Jets over the Patriots at the New Meadowlands was not a surprise at all.

New York (1-1) could simply not fall to 0-2 (when the Patriots and Dolphins would be 2-0) and New England (1-1) played over their heads in their Week 1 laugher vs. the Bengals.

The biggest surprise was how much Mark Sanchez (220 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) badly outplayed Tom Brady (248 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions). This wasn't a passing of the torch (there I go) but it was a sign that Sanchez isn't as hopeless as Hard Knocks and Week 1 vs. the Ravens made us believe.

The two hallmarks of the forgettable 2009 Patriots were that they were awful on the road (2-6; one of those in London) and they couldn't protect leads in the second half, forcing them to crumble.

Here we go again. True to form, the Pats started out on fire in the first quarter and went up 7-0 on a six-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Wes Welker (6 catches, 38 yards).

New England controlled the ball for the first half but couldn't go up further when Stephen Gostkowski missed a 37-yard field goal (he's 1 for 4 this season).

Braylon Edwards (5 catches, 45 yards) tied it up with a 10-yard touchdown grab from Sanchez.

Randy Moss (2 catches, 38 yards) helped New England go up 14-7 with an amazing 34-yard one-handed touchdown catch. It was the 150th catch of his NFL career, the fourth skill position player to reach that mark but it became a footnote when he was held without a catch in the second half.

That was shocking since Darrelle Revis went down with a hamstring injury on Moss' touchdown. Antonio Cromartie (4 tackles, interception) did a great job against Moss in the second half.

Nick Folk hit a 49-yard kick to end the first half and give the Jets a manageable 14-10 deficit.

From there, it was all Jets all the time. They outscored New England 18-0 in the second half as the Patriots were left to one play (throwing it deep to Moss) which never worked.

Folk added a 36-yard field goal, cutting it to 14-13 in the third quarter then Jerricho Cotchery put the Jets ahead for good with a two-yard touchdown catch. Edwards' two-point conversion catch put New York up 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Dustin Keller (7 catches, 115 yards) capped the win with a 1-yard touchdown catch.

Trading Laurence Maroney was fine with me but I assumed that the Pats running game wouldn't be so pathetic (52 yards).

Rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez had a great game, catching six passes for 101 yards.

Too often, New England's young corners (Darius Butler and Devin McCourty) were beaten downfield against the Jets' bigger receivers.

Tully Banta-Cain had eight solo tackles and a sack and rookie Brandon Spikes added nine tackles (five solo). Gerard Warren had two sacks in the loss.

I'm sure the Patriots will beat up on the hopeless Buffalo Bills (0-2) next Sunday afternoon at Gillette and everything will be right in the world but there has to be some progress if they ever hope to beat any good teams and/or win on the road.

Where has this team been all season? Patriots win AFC East title

For most of this season, Patriots fans (that are somewhat rational) have been resigned to the fact that yes New England would make the playoffs but they'd probably get bounced in the first round. Bottom line, they weren't going to make any noise.

Well yesterday's events threw a wrench in that depressing blueprint as the Patriots played their best game of the season with a 35-7 win over the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.

It was the Patriots' (10-5) third straight win and it clinched the AFC East title. Tom Brady (23 for 26, 267 yards) threw four touchdowns passes, three to Randy Moss and Wes Welker had 13 catches for 138 yards.

For the first time all season, New England's running game featured a stable of four healthy backs and they produced a season-high 197 yards rushing.

Still without Vince Wilfork, the defense looked great, making an early fourth-down stop and picking off two errant throws by David Garrard.

New England received the opening kickoff and marched down the field on their best, most creative drive of the year. However, Laurence Maroney fumbled at the 1-yard line and Jacksonville (7-8) recovered.

It seemed like a big deal at the time but on the ensuing Jags drive, head coach Jack Del Rio chose to go for it on fourth and 1 at their own 35-yard line. Maurice Jones-Drew (18 rushes, 63 yards) was stuffed by James Sanders and that was basically the game.

Moss gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 2-yard touchdown catch. New England blitzed Jacksonville with 21 points in the second quarter-one of its best of the season. Forgotten man Chris Baker made a nice 26-yard touchdown catch, Sammy Morris (12 carries, 95 yards) scored on a 1-yard run and Moss caught a 6-yard TD.

Brandon Meriweather picked off Garrard in the first half and returned it 56 yards while Shawn Springs made his first play of the year, an interception in the red zone when New England was still preserving the shutout.

Moss' final score was a 17-yard catch and run where he dove near the end zone and stretched his arm and the ball over the line.

Garrard's two-yard run in the fourth quarter ended the shutout but by that time nobody cared.

Fred Taylor looked good in the fourth quarter, running for 35 yards on 11 carries. Kevin Faulk had 41 yards rushing while Maroney was on the bench for the rest of the game following his fumble.

Jerod Mayo had his best game of the season, making 15 total tackles, 11 solo.

Now the question is how much do you play Brady, Moss, Welker and other key players since next week at Houston doesn't mean much to the Patriots. They're locked in to the third or fourth seed but they will host a Wild Card game.

Bill Belichick hates to rest anybody so who knows how it'll play out. The AFC playoff scenarios are a mess which means there should be a lot of interesting games on the final day of the regular season.

Patriots find a pass rush, beat the hapless Bills

Once again, it wasn't pretty (at all) but the Patriots beat the Bills yesterday 17-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

It was New England's (9-5) first true road win since their only other win away from Gillette was in London.

They also received two early Christmas presents as the Jets lost to the Falcons and the Dolphins lost in overtime to the Titans. The Patriots are two games up in the AFC East with two games to play.

The two things to take away from yesterday (besides how pathetic Buffalo is) were the reappearance of Randy Moss off milk cartons and post office walls. Plus, the Pats non-existent pass rush stopped by and sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards a combined six times.

Tully Banta-Cain led the Patriots' defense with three sacks, while Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton and Mike Wright also recorded sacks. Finally, Jonathan Wilhite had an interception.

Buffalo (5-9) looked like world-beaters on their opening drive as they held the ball for 14 plays and 9:24 but they stalled in the red zone and were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Rian Lindell.

Without Vince Wilfork (one of the NFL's best) and Ty Warren (a very solid defensive end), the Patriots defensive line was completely pushed around on that first drive.

Rookie Ron Brace (4 tackles) started in the middle for New England and Wright (6 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss) subbed for Warren. Brace proved why he's been inactive much of the season while Wright continued to get everything out of his limited ability.

Moss (5 catches, 70 yards) put the Pats up 7-3 in the second quarter on one of Tom Brady's (11 for 23, 115 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) only good throws: a perfect 13-yard strike to the back of the end zone that Moss controlled and tapped his feet down before going out of bounds.

Laurence Maroney (23 carries, 81 yards) gave New England a 14-3 lead with 24 seconds left in the first half. Nobody will ever credit him until he has an injury-free, solid season, but Maroney is slowly becoming the weapon he's shown glimpses of in the past.

Buffalo couldn't get out of its own way as they had 10 penalties in the first half-an NFL record this season-and finished with 11 overall for 124 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski's 30-yard kick put the Pats up 17-3 but the Bills made it close when Lee Evans caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick.

The Bills recovered the ensuing onside kick but rookie Aaron Maybin was offsides so they chose to kick it deep and they never saw it again.

Jacksonville comes to Gillette next Sunday and then the Patriots wrap up the regular season at Houston in two weeks. If New England wins on Sunday, they'll clinch the division and would have to think hard about resting Brady since he's clearly banged up and not himself. He has an interception in four straight games.

If the playoffs started today, the Broncos would be coming to Gillette in the Wild Card round. Not a bad matchup.

It's time like this when you have to say, boy do the Patriots suck

If you could tell a few weeks ago that the Patriots were about to blow up, you're a more perceptive person than me.

The loss to Indy was obviously devastating and getting embarrassed by the Saints didn't help anything but losing 22-21 to a pretty average Dolphins team (without Ronnie Brown) yesterday afternoon was downright depressing.

Now the Patriots (7-5) sit just one game ahead of Miami (6-6) and the Jets (6-6), two shitbum teams that have no business even thinking about the playoffs but here we are.

Yesterday's loss had all the similar ingredients to every one of New England's other road losses this season. Did you know they haven't won a true road game yet this year? The new rule is they go for it on fourth down regardless of score or situation. The offense completely disappears in the second half and the defense can't make one noteworthy stop against scrubs like Chad Henne (335 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) since they have absolutely no pass rush. Also, our red zone attack is pathetic.

Oh and Tom Brady (352 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) makes a couple uncharacteristic mistakes based on the fact that our offense is completely predictable, without a running game and basically revolves around Wes Welker (10 catches, 167 yards).

Other than his 58-yard TD catch to start the game, Randy Moss was invisible (2 catches, 66 yards).

Kevin Faulk's 6-yard run gave New England a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before Miami slowly started to chip away at our lead which you knew the Pats wouldn't hold.

First Davone Bess scored a 13-yard touchdown, the first of his career which is surprising because we made him look like a hall of famer yesterday (10 catches, 117 yards).

Dan Carpenter's 29-yard field goal with a second left in the first half cut the Patriots' lead to 14-10.

After a Dolphins three and out, New England had its final highlight of the day: a ridiculous 81-yard catch and run by Sam Aiken. Brady just threw it up in a crowd on the sideline and somehow Aiken came down with it, kept his balance then sprinted for the score.

Carpenter's 24-yard field goal made it 21-13 in the third quarter before Brian Hartline caught a 7-yard pass in the corner of the end zone from Henne. The Dolphins missed the two-point conversion but two things were clear: 1) they'd score again and 2) New England probably would not.

Therefore Carpenter's 41-yard kick with 1:02 left was no surprise. New England got the ball back but Brady promptly threw a bad pick to Channing Crowder when he was being taken down and that was that.

The Patriots have four more games: vs. Panthers, at Bills, vs. Jaguars, at Texans. It's a very winnable final four games but after yesterday's mess, who knows if this team can do anything anymore. They look lost and broken.

Who to blame: the refs, Belichick, Laurence Maroney? Answer: all of the above.

What the fuck happened last night in Indy?

The Patriots choked away two 17-point leads and lost 35-34 at Lucas Oil Stadium after two dubious calls went to the Colts (9-0) and oh by the way New England genius head coach Bill Belichick went for it on fourth-and-two from their own 28.

It is a shame that a great performance by the Patriots (6-3) for 58 minutes will mostly be remembered by the slobbering masses for the weak pass interference call on Darius Butler, the terrible spot on Kevin Faulk's fourth down catch and Belichick's ridiculous roll of the dice.

A win would have put the Patriots in the mix for the possible top seed in the AFC but now, they're relegated to fighting for the second or third spot in the AFC. We can all agree that the division is wrapped up now (I'll print the worthless AFC East champions shirts) after the Jets lost yesterday to the Jaguars, Buffalo got blown out by the Titans and the Dolphins squeaked by the Bucs.

The Patriots did whatever they want on offense as Tom Brady (375 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Randy Moss (9 catches, 179 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (9 catches, 94 yards) abused Indy's injury-depleted defense.

Joseph Addai gave the Colts an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 15-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass. From there, the Pats rolled off 24 straight points.

Laurence Maroney tied it with a one-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter. A Stephen Gostkowski 31-yard field goal, a 63-yard bomb to Moss and a 9-yard catch by Julian Edelman put New England up 24-7 with 7:19 left in the second quarter.

Predictably, Peyton Manning (327 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) and Reggie Wayne (10 catches, 126 yards, 2 touchdowns) took just over three minutes to make it 24-14 as Manning found Wayne for a 20-yard touchdown catch.

Neither team scored in the third quarter and Randy Moss extended to lead to 31-14 early in the fourth quarter after a quick 5-yard out.

The Patriots defense which played well in spurts, seemed to struggle most when they had a lead of more than one score.

Playing passively against Manning never works. Pierre Garcon caught a 29-yard pass as the Colts cut it to 31-21.

Maroney did his best to give it away as he fumbled a sure touchdown into the end zone which the Colts recovered.

When Gostkowski hit a 36-yard field goal with 4:12 left, the game looked all but over at 34-21 Patriots.

Once again, the prevent defense collapsed in a heartbeat for the Patriots as Indianapolis marched down the field and got a gift pass interference call. Addai ran it in from 4 yards out with 2:23 left.

Belichick wasted not one but two timeouts on their last real drive which of course came back to haunt them. When their third down play didn't work (an out to Welker, really?), nobody could believe it as the offense stayed on the field and went for it on fourth down.

Faulk (79 yards rushing) caught it at the 30-yard line (which should have been a first down) but two Colts defenders tackled him backwards. Apparently forward progress is a forgotten concept as the closest ref signalled Faulk was juggling (he did at first but then it was secure). They had no challenges left so they couldn't review the play.

One last time, Manning and Indy put the ball in the end zone as he threw a 1-yard touchdown to Wayne.

Yikes. After listening to pregame hype of this game all week, now I have to listen to all the second-guessing of everything in the game this week.

The Jets come to Gillette on Sunday and hopefully the Patriots can put this horrorshow behind them as fast as possible.

The Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC East, FACT

Last year, the Miami Dolphins came into Gillette Stadium and shocked the Patriots and the NFL by unveiling their old-time offense, the wildcat. It spurred an AFC East title for Miami along with a nation-wide infatuation with this simple offensive system.

Yesterday back at Gillette and with a healthy Tom Brady, the Patriots held off the Dolphins 27-17 in an early season divisional showdown.

It was no surprise that Brady (332 yards passing, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) and Randy Moss (6 catches, 147 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 two-point conversion) were the best players on the field.

Miami (3-5) tried to control the clock with its powerful running game led by Ronnie Brown and a cleaned up Ricky Williams, as evidenced by their ten minute drive to start the second half.

The difference was that New England's (6-2) offense had the quick-strike ability while Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne is still trying to find his way as a starter.

After rookie cornerback Vonte Davis (remember that name) picked off Brady on the game's opening drive, Miami kicker Dan Carpenter hit a career-long 52-yard kick to give the Dolphins an early 3-0 lead.

The Patriots responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Laurence Maroney. Having to carry the load, Maroney did a decent job with 82 yards on 20 carries. Moss set up the easy six with a one-handed grab that was good for 36 yards. Davis couldn't do anything to stop that absurd catch.

Stephen Gostkowski continues to prove why he's one of the NFL's best as he had three field goals in the second quarter alone. In between, Williams ran for a 15-yard score out of the wildcat.

New England led 16-10 at the half as Gostkowski hit a 34-yarder as time ran out. Once again, the Patriots' struggles in the red zone continued against good teams.

Brown capped off Miami's long drive to start the second half as he threw a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joey Haynos. Using backup quarterback Pat White, the Dolphins started to find a rhythm against a confused Pats defense.

Three plays later, Moss and Brady connected for a play which you'll see for the rest of the season. On third and 1, Brady hit Moss on a crossing pattern. Moss juked Davis then stiff-armed him and outran him 71 yards for the touchdown. It was the 140th career touchdown catch for Moss, tying him second all-time with Terrell Owens and behind the incomparable Jerry Rice.

The Patriots defense didn't get any turnovers but Adalius Thomas returned from the dead with a key sack as New England held Miami scoreless the rest of the way.

Jerod Mayo led the Patriots with 12 tackles while Brandon McGowan (11 tackles), Tully Banta-Cain (9 tackles) and rookie Darius Butler added seven tackles.

Backup center Dan Connolly also did a nice job for New England after Dan Koppen went down with a knee injury.

The win sets up a huge matchup which I'm already peeing my pants (PG-rated version) over: Patriots at Colts (8-0) on Sunday night.

A circle jerk in Foxboro

One of the main reasons that ESPN and most mainstream sports media these days is a joke is that they make snap decisions after one game or a very small sample size.

No doubt, after yesterday's 59-0 win over the Titans at snowy Gillette Stadium, most Patriots fans as well as pundits will be quick to say Tom Brady and the Pats are back.

To quote the esteemed Lee Corso, head college football bozo on Gameday, "not so fast my friend." So while yes, the events of yesterday's contest were quite pleasing, let's keep in mind what a perfect storm of shit the Titans faced: coming in 0-5 (their season was already over), there was an unexpected snowstorm, on the road against an offense and team looking to breakout and playing without three of its top guys in the secondary.

Only later in the season will we be able to say if this game was a blip (like last season's thrashing of Arizona in somewhat similar circumstances) or a positive sign of things to come from Brady (380 yards, 6 TDs), Wes Welker (10 catches, 150 yards, 2 TDs) and Randy Moss (8 catches, 129 yards, 3 touchdowns).

Recapping the play by play of this one would be pointless. I'll just talk about the New England scores and some other random thoughts.

After Sammy Morris got hurt in the first quarter (with what looked like a knee injury), Laurence Maroney subbed in and had a big game with 16 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown. Second year back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his first playing time of the year and he looked good, rushing for 67 yards and making two catches for 11 yards.

After Stephen Gostkowski missed a 39-yard kick, Maroney opened the scoring with a 45-yard run. Gostkowski hit a 33-yard kick as the Pats (4-2) led 10-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was something we'll never see again in our lifetimes. Brady set an NFL record with five touchdown passes in those 15 minutes.

He started it with his two best passes of the season: a 40-yard flea flicker to Moss then a 28-yard pass to Moss in the back of the end zone when Brady was about to be drilled.

Kevin Faulk turned a screen pass into a 38-yard touchdown then Wes Welker got his two touchdowns: from 30 and five yards.

The only real intrigue after the half (the biggest deficit in NFL history) was how much longer Brady would play (one series) and if the Pats would get the shutout (since I was facing them in fantasy football).

Brady's day was done after a 9-yard touchdown pass to Moss. Rookie backup quarterback Brian Hoyer got his first NFL action and made it memorable by scoring on a 1-yard QB sneak for the final mark.

Poor Chris Johnson had 128 yards rushing for the Titans (0-6) but Kerry Collins (2 for 12, -7 yards, fumble, interception) and Vince Young (0 for 2, interception) looked like they'd never played football before or seen snow. Collins must have fallen off the wagon yesterday because no sober NFL quarterback could play that bad. As for VY, he continues to rapidly regress as he only worries about partying shirtless in clubs.

Patriots rookie cornerback Darius Bulter had his first NFL interception and so did rookie safety Patrick Chung. In addition, New England's defense recovered three fumbles.

I thought Arizona's turd salad was the worst performance I'd ever see in the NFL but in less than a year, that was topped. It's hard to imagine any loss being worse than yesterday.

Next on the schedule, New England and Tampa Bay (0-6) meet in London on Sunday for another stupid NFL in the UK matchup. Earth to Roger Goddell: nobody in the UK gives a shit about American football. Never have, never will. Time to move on from this stupid experiment.

The Pats shouldn't have any trouble with the hapless Bucs and they'll cruise into their bye week at 5-2. Some other good news coming from yesterday was that the Jets continue to fall apart as they lost to Buffalo in overtime. It was a pathetic loss that dropped the Jets to 3-3, losers of three straight. Your New England Patriots now rest atop the AFC East.

Flacco looks good without the unibrow

Nobody is talking about them nationally but the Patriots defense is legit. For the second week in a row, they beat a previously unbeaten team as they knocked off Baltimore 27-21 yesterday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

Unlike the Falcons the week before, the Ravens (3-1) are for real. Not much separated these teams and essentially it came down to a dropped pass on fourth down by Baltimore receiver Mark Clayton.

Tom Brady had his best game of the season, 21 of 32 for 258 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Randy Moss (3 catches, 50 yards) scored his first touchdown of the season and Wes Welker (6 catches, 48 yards) returned after missing the past two games.

What this game will be remembered for is the Patriots' (3-1) defense making more plays than the much-hyped Baltimore D. On the opening kickoff of the game, New England's special teams caused and recovered a fumble. All they could get out of the great field position was a 32-yard kick by Stephen Gostkowski.

The next Ravens drive was the Joe Flacco (27 of 47, 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) and Derrick Mason (7 catches, 88 yards) show. The ageless receiver had six catches for 77 yards on that drive alone. He finished it off with a leaping, 20-yard touchdown catch when he held on despite landing awkwardly on his head.

Ray Rice showed off his skills with 103 yards rushing and 49 yards receiving.

New England put together its best two drives of the game in the second quarter as they scored two touchdowns in the red zone (which has been the team's biggest issue).

Brady finished off the first with a quarterback sneak up the middle for a yard. Sammy Morris' 12-yard run gave New England a 17-7 halftime lead.

Baltimore's defense got it back into the game with a fumble recovery by Dwan Edwards in the end zone. Terrell Suggs strip-sacked Brady on that play.

Moss put the lead back to two scores (24-14) when he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brady. It wasn't a beautiful throw or play but Brady did what he had to do as the Ravens were coming on a blitz. He simply threw it to Moss who had the inside position on Dominique Foxworth.

The Ravens wouldn't go away, a sign of how good they are, as Willis McGahee scored on a 13-yard catch and run.

Brady and the offense had one more score in them as Gostkowski added the final points on a 33-yard field goal.

The scoring defense has been impressive for the Patriots but they had been lacking big plays, until yesterday. Leigh Bodden recorded his first interception for New England and Mike Wright had two sacks.

Brandon Meriweather continued to develop into the playmaker that the secondary desperately needs as he had a team-high nine tackles. Rookie cornerback Darius Butler saw his most playing time of the season and he delivered with a few key pass breakups.

Another test awaits next Sunday as the Patriots travel to Denver to face the 4-0 Broncos and ex-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Brady's back bitches

For 3+ quarters last night, Tom Brady's triumphant return to the NFL was anything but by the script.

Everyone assumed that the Buffalo Bills would come into Gillette Stadium and get rolled. A team that had just fired its offensive coordinator, cut its starting left tackle and brought Terrell Owens aboard with a lame duck coach (Dick Jauron) did not seem to be a team destined to upset the Patriots.

Yet there they were, up 24-13 with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter after Trent Edwards (212 yards, 2 TDs) found Fred Jackson (140 total yards) for a 10-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

True to the form of a team that had lost 11 straight games (and 16 out of 17) to the Patriots, Buffalo completely folded.

Brady (378 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the offense finally got on the same page and Ben Watson (6 catches, 77 yards) snagged an 18-yard pass to cut it to 24-19 Bills with 2:06 remaining.

The two-point conversion, a pass to Watson, was picked off which seemed like a big deal. The Pats needed to get the ball back fast, and they needed a touchdown to save this poor performance. With three timeouts and the two-minute warning, it looked like if they could force a three-and-out, they'd be in good shape.

Bills returner Leodis McKelvin had other plans though as he tried to be a hero and took the ensuing kickoff out of his own end zone. Wouldn't you know that he fumbled at the 31-yard line after Brandon Meriweather stood him up and Pierre Woods stripped him of the ball. Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski improbably fell on the ball and the Patriots were in business.

Brady found Watson with an eerily similar pass (16 yards) and New England took a 25-24 lead with 50 seconds left. Once again, they failed to convert the two-point conversion.

Buffalo got the ball back and drove down the field but they couldn't get in field goal range and were forced to try a million laterals, which ultimately failed.

Whew.

Where to begin? Even though, the statistics were dominated by the Patriots, this was a game they had no business winning. No doubt, Dennis Green was spinning in his grave saying "the Bills let them off the hook!"

Randy Moss (12 catches, 141 yards) and Wes Welker (12 catches, 93 yards) had great games but too often, the offense seemed out of sync.

On the other side, the Pats defense lost its best player to a knee injury-Jerod Mayo in the first quarter; he never returned-and they couldn't stop Edwards or Jackson. The secondary apparently held up as Owens was held to 45 yards on two catches and Lee Evans only had 25 yards on three catches.

Clearly Jauron was up to his vanilla play-calling best with the assortment of screens, short passes and counter plays.

Only time will tell if the Bills are as bad as most think they'll be and if the Patriots turn out to be as great as most (myself included) believe.

Shawn Nelson put Buffalo up 7-0 in the first quarter on an 11-yard catch from Edwards.

New Patriot Fred Taylor tied it in the second quarter with a 1-yard run.

Aaron Schobel (who Matt Light makes look like Reggie White) turned in the individual play of the game when he made a one-handed interception of a Brady pass in the second quarter and rumbled 26 yards for the score.

Every single time something bad happen to the Patriots, they'd zoom in on some yahoo fan with the look of someone that had just seen their team lose in the Super Bowl. Relax idiots. It's a long season and as far as a I know, we still have Bill Belichick (patrolling the sidelines in his customary cut-off hoodie) and Brady.

Gostkowski's 20-yard field goal at the end of the first half made it 14-10 Bills but the Patriots were lucky it was that close since they didn't convert on fourth down during their first drive and Gostkowski missed a 41-yard field goal.

Rian Lindell's 40-yard kick put the Bills up 17-10 in the third quarter and Gostkowski answered early in the fourth with a 28-yard kick which set the stage for the ridiculous ending.

If Mayo is out for an extended period of time, that's a big problem. For a defense that lost Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison in the offseason, its unclear who will be a playmaker for that defense. Especially one not named Mayo.

It should be another tight divisional game on Sunday afternoon as the Patriots travel to the Meadowlands to play the Jets. New York looked great in week 1, winning at Houston in Mark Sanchez's NFL debut. The Jets defense is good enough to shut New England down if they're offense doesn't work out the kinks this week in practice.

Are the Arizona Cardinals the worst playoff team in NFL history?

I mean honestly, I know the Cardinals clinched the NFC West two weeks ago but could a team put up less of a fight than Arizona showed yesterday in the snow/sleet at Gillette Stadium.

The Pats (10-5) embarrassed the Cardinals (8-7), 47-7, and kept their playoff hopes alive going into the final week of the regular season.

For a team that can't win on the road, especially on the East Coast and in bad weather, it was comical when Arizona came out and tried to run the ball (even though they have statistically the worst rushing attack in the NFL).

After the first three-and-out and a 28-yard punt return by Wes Welker, the Patriots moved the ball downfield until LaMont Jordan (20 carries, 78 yards) scored from a yard out. Another Arizona three-and-out and another Jordan TD (3 yards) gave New England a 14-0 lead barely 11 minutes into the game.

If there was any question how this would end up, New England added 17 more points in the second quarter. Kevin Faulk caught a 15-yard TD from Matt Cassel (20 for 36, 345 yards, 3 touchdowns), pro-bowler Welker (7 catches, 68 yards) snagged a 11-yard TD pass and fellow pro-bowler Stephen Gostkowski hit a 38-yard kick in a swirling wind with two seconds left in the first half.

With nothing to play for, the Cardinals never really tried to play in the unfavorable elements. Anquan Boldin sat out the game and Kurt Warner might as well have done the same. Everybody's favorite Jesus freak (this side of Jon Kitna) was 6-of-18 for 30 yards before he got the hook in the third quarter.

New England is now 10-0 at Foxboro in the snow and 9-0 under Belichick with those conditions.

In the first play of the second half, Randy Moss took a bubble screen pass, made one move and was gone 76 yards for a score. Gostkowski hit three more field goals (35, 24, 30) which helped him break the single-season Patriots record for kicks.

Arizona finally got on the board in the fourth quarter when Matt Leinart (remember him? 6-for-14, 138 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) connected with Larry Fitzgerald (3 catches, 101 yards) for a 78 yard bomb.

Sammy Morris led the Pats with 88 yards rushing on 17 carries and Jabar Gaffney had a team-leading 90 yards on five catches.

The Ravens didn't do New England any favors by winning in Dallas Saturday night and the same goes for the Dolphins, who survived against Kansas City. Still, Brett Favre gave us a beautifully-wrapped gift when the Jets fell 13-3 in Seattle yesterday.

For New England to make the playoffs, they have to win in Buffalo on Sunday and either A) the Jets have to beat the Dolphins (which they did in the first game of the season) or B) the Jaguars have to beat the Ravens.

I feel very confident that the Pats can take care of the Bills, even though they knocked off the Broncos yesterday. The Jets game is a toss-up (the Jets are also still in the mix for a playoff spot) and Jacksonville is pretty unlikely to do anything other than lay down in Baltimore.

The good omen is that since the NFL expanded to six playoff teams in each conference (in 1990), no 11-5 team has ever missed the playoffs.

"How to ruin a once proud franchise" by Al Davis

It's hard to imagine two professional sports teams taking a more divergent path than the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders after they met in the 2001 playoffs. The Patriots pulled out that controversial game in overtime, a springboard to their first of three Super Bowl titles in four seasons.

Sure the Raiders made the next Super Bowl but they lost that to the Bucs and then since then they've been living on NFL's version of skid row with the Detroit Lions.

How else can you describe such a putrid franchise after yesterday's joke of a game in Oakland?

After two weeks on the west coast, the Patriots (9-5) came home with a 49-26 win that wasn't anywhere near that close.

New England scored on its first three drives and led 21-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders (3-11) certainly scored some points of their own but the outcome of this one was decided in the first half.

Matt Cassel's dad died unexpectedly last week but any thoughts of that being a distraction were quickly erased as Cassel set a career-high with four touchdown passes. He finished 18-for-30 for 218 yards and an interception (which clanged off stone hands Ben Watson who was wide open).

Even more impressive was the Pats three-headed rushing attack that for one day at least resembled the Giants' vaunted trio.

Sammy Morris (14 carries, 117 yards), LaMont Jordan (12 carries, 97 yards) and Kevin Faulk (45 yards rushing, 66 yards receiving) ran through the biggest holes in California, this side of your garden variety porn stars.

Faulk began the barrage with a 7-yard catch and run for a score (with a great block from Wes Welker).

Ex-Raider Randy Moss (5 catches, 67 yards) got his revenge for a couple wasted years of his life by hauling in a 20-yard pass from Cassel.

Morris made it 21-0 with a 29-yard run.

Oakland got on the board late in the first quarter when JaMarcus Russell hit Johnnie Lee Higgins with a 56-yard TD.

Welker (6 catches, 69 yards) scored a rare TD with a 13-yard catch.

Then on back-to-back plays, the Raiders and Patriots had kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Justin Miller (91 yards) did the honors for Oakland while Ellis Hobbs (95 yards) answered for New England.

In the third quarter, Moss' second TD (9-yards) put the Pats up 42-14 and sent many of the Raider faithful back to their various prisons and rehab facilities.

Still, in a driving rainstorm and watching their team get embarrassed, there was something very captivating about fans sticking it out. They are called many things but Raider fans are not frauds.

Russell (17-for-31, 242 yards, interception) completed his erratic day with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry.

In garbage time, Jordan (another ex-Raider) scampered 49 yards (longest run of the year for New England) and rookie stud Darren McFadden (46 yards rushing; 68 yards receiving) ran in from 11 yards away.

There were only two bad things yesterday for the Patriots. Left tackle Matt Light left the game and appeared to have seriously injured his shoulder. Also, the Jets and Dolphins both hung on to win close games, meaning the Patriots are still tied with those two teams.

Only two games remain and the Patriots have to win out. They might not even make it if that happens but it would be surprising nonetheless.

The Cardinals, who have already clinched a playoff spot and are terrible on the road (especially on the east coast) come to Gillette next weekend. Hopefully Mother Nature helps the Pats out with some classic New England winter weather.

Cassel and Moss unstoppable as Pats beat Dolphins in Miami

A day that most thought would never happen has come: Matt Cassel is a solid NFL quarterback on a playoff contender. I can hardly believe it myself but such is the storyline after Cassel and the Patriots (7-4) won 48-28 yesterday at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Cassel was 30 for 43 with 415 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His second straight 400+ passing yards performance was the fifth time in NFL history that has happened.

His two main targets were Randy Moss (8 catches, 125 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 120 yards).

The Patriots needed all of the offensive fireworks as once again, the defense was awful.

Miami (6-5) quarterback Chad Pennington threw for a career-high 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Stephen Gostowski began the shootout with a 30-yard field goal on the Pats' opening drive.

The Dolphins responded with a touchdown on their first possession. Pennington found wide receiver Greg Camarillo (6 catches, 75) with a three-yard TD pass.

In the second quarter, both quarterbacks ran for touchdowns on broken plays. Cassel's eight-yard run put New England up 10-7 while Pennington scrambled seven yards for a 14-10 Miami lead.

With a little more than two minutes left until halftime, Moss scored his first touchdown of the day on a 25-yard catch and run into the end zone.

On its first drive of the second half, the Dolphins once again moved the ball at will on the Pats terrible defense. Fullback Casey Cramer ended it with a 2-yard catch from Pennington, putting the Dolphins up 21-17.

Cassel hit Moss with a beautiful 8-yard fade in the corner of the end zone to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead.

Set up by Welker's 64-yard catch and long run, Kevin Faulk (53 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving) ran up the gut for a 21-yard score on the last play of the third quarter.

From there, the Patriots' composure and big game experience finally showed in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins (led by head idiot Joey Porter) accumulated penalties and gave up huge plays.

Ricky Williams had Miami's last score with a 13-yard fade from Pennington, making it 31-28 New England.

The Patriots scored 17 unanswered points to finish it off.

Moss' final touchdown was a 29-yard catch. For some reason, the Dolphins chose to single-cover Moss all day which obviously yielded great results for Moss and the Patriots.

Gostowski kicked another 30-yard field goal and BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored a garbage time 1-yard TD with 37 seconds left. As Gostowski put the last extra point through, Patriots left tackle Matt Light and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder started punching each other and both were subsequently ejected. Light seemed to get the better of the fight as he pulled Crowder's dread locks and pummelled him. Good stuff.

Jabar Gaffney and Ten Ginn Jr. each finished with five catches for 88 yards while Davone Bess had five catches for 87 yards.

The Jets knocked off the unbeaten Titans yesterday and hung onto their one-game lead in the AFC East over New England. Buffalo and Miami are tied for third with matching 6-5 records.

New England is still on the outside of the playoff picture but at 7-4 with a favorable schedule down the stretch, the Pats are in a good position.

Their toughest remaining regular season game is next Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Gillette Stadium. Pittsburgh can be great or Big Ben and his team can be awful. Who knows which version of the Steelers will show up?

Matt Cassel accounts for 462 yards yet Patriots still lose to Jets in OT

A terrible start by the Patriots (facing a 24-6 hole in the second quarter) coupled with a defense that couldn't make enough stops led to a 34-31 overtime win by the New York Jets (7-3) last night at Gillette Stadium.

The win which vaulted New York into sole possession of first place in the AFC East was a gutcheck and while the Pats (6-4) admirably responded and forced overtime, they have nobody to blame for the loss but themselves.

New England wasted outstanding performances from Matt Cassel (30 for 51, 400 yards, 3 touchdowns; 62 yards rushing) and stud rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo (16 solo tackles, 4 assists).

All game, we waited for the inevitable Brett Favre (26 for 33, 258 yards, 2 touchdowns) backbreaking mistake but it never materialized.

Randy Moss forced overtime when he made a 16-yard touchdown catch with one second left in the fourth quarter. Moss somehow balanced himself in the corner of the end zone and snagged the pass while getting both feet inbounds. Ty Law was on his back the whole time but he was helpless to stop the play.

New York made a statement on its opening drive as they marched 62 yards and scored on a 7-yard catch and run by Leon Washington.

Stephen Gostowski kicked a 42-yard field goal to get the Patriots on the board on their first possession.

Jay Feely kicked a 22-yard field goal with six seconds left in the first quarter to give the Jets a 10-3 lead.

Once again, a promising Patriots drive stalled as they were forced to settle for three (a 31-yard Gostowski kick). This was magnified when Washington took the ensuing kickoff 92-yards for a touchdown.

Jerricho Cotchery's (5 catches, 87 yards) 15-yard catch and run for a score was an illustration of how bad New England's secondary is these days. They can't cover anybody and as the Jets (and Bills to a lesser degree on Sunday) showed, they can't tackle at all. In the off-season either through free agency or the draft, they have to address this glaring weakness.

Cassel and New England went into the locker room with some momentum as Jabar Gaffney (7 catches, 86 yards) hauled in a beautiful 19-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left.

The Jets finally made a mistake when Cotchery fumbled and Pats rookie linebacker Gary Guyton recovered it in the third quarter.

Making up for an earlier fumble in the third, Ben Watson (8 catches, 88 yards) caught a 10-yard score from Cassel as time ran out in the third. Gaffney pulled down the two-point conversion and the Pats were in business, down 24-21 headed into the fourth.

Gostowski tied it with a 47-yard kick. From there, New York worked the Pats defense over with a long drive that ended with a one-yard TD run by Thomas Jones (30 carries, 104 yards). The drive was filled with penalties and numerous mistakes by New England.

Facing fourth and 17 with two and a half minutes left, New England elected to punt (with one timeout left) but it paid off as they forced a Jets three and out.

They went 62 yards in eight plays with no timeouts. Wes Welker (7 catches, 108 yards) made some big gains on the tying drive.

With the crowd going crazy, the Jets won the cointoss and calmly moved down the field. The worst play for New England was third and 15 from deep in the Jets' territory. Dustin Keller (8 catches, 87 yards), who my buddy Curt said the Patriots look like Shannon Sharpe in his prime, gained 16 yards. If the Pats could have stopped the Jets on that play, they would have had great field position.

Feely clinched the win with a 34-yard kick that hooked left but stayed true.

The Patriots will have longer than usual to stew over this disappointing loss. They'll travel to Miami next Sunday for another huge AFC East game. The Dolphins smoked the Patriots earlier in the season and as they've proven since then, they're no longer a laughingstock.

When he's not smokin' trees at Lil' Wayne concerts, Kevin Faulk is a hell of a player

Can we just let Kevin Faulk start writing his speech for the Patriots Hall of Fame? When talking about Faulk (just like it used to be with Troy Brown), you run out of original thoughts. Faulk is the consummate professional, who always steps up and makes plays when his team needs him most.

With Laurence Maroney on IR, Sammy Morris and Lamont Jordan out with injuries, Faulk made the biggest play of the game as the Patriots held off the St. Louis Rams, 23-16, at Gillette Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Faulk had 13 carries for 60 yards and four catches for 47 yards. With the game tied at 16 late in the fourth quarter, Faulk split out wide and caught a 15-yard TD pass from Matt Cassel (21 of 33, 267 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs).

On a day when both Randy Moss (7 catches, 102 yards) and Wes Welker (7 catches, 79 yards) dropped passes they would normally haul in, Faulk showed why he is Mr. Patriot (now that Brown is retired and Brady is on IR).

There were plenty of reasons why New England (5-2) should have lost: their running game as alluded to was a mess, their secondary sucks and that's compounded by the fact that everyone is going down with an injury. Cassel, his receivers and the Patriots front seven wouldn't let that happen.

As predicted, the Rams (2-5) came out looking to win after knocking off the Redskins and Cowboys in consecutive games. New England caught a major break when Steven Jackson was held out of the game with a thigh injury. Still, Marc Bulger (18 of 34, 301 yards, TD, INT) had no trouble gashing the Pats for long gains.

Rookie receiver Donnie Avery (6 catches, 163 yards) was unstoppable on deep balls all day.

The Rams went for it on 4th-and-1 on their opening day and eventually scored on Josh Brown's 20-yard kick.

New England answered with a 2-yard TD run by rookie Benjarvus Green-Ellis.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Avery caught his second long reception. This time it was 69 yards for a score as two Patriots defenders ran into each other as Avery elluded them both.

Two Stephen Gostowski field goals (30 and 27 yards) let New England take a slim 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The only score of the third quarter was a 44-yard kick by Brown. Cassel had bad luck on two drives as a pass to Moss, bounced off Moss' hands and into O.J. Otogwe's. Later, Welker slipped, allowing Fahkir Brown to pick another pass off.

Brown added a 25-yard boot at the beginning of the fourth quarter to give St. Louis a 16-13 lead. From there, the Patriots buckled down. They tied it on Gostowski's 41-yard kick then went ahead for good with 3:13 left on Faulk's grab.

Adalius Thomas (7 tackles, 2 sacks), Richard Seymour (7 tackles, 1 sack), Tedy Bruschi (11 tackles) and Ty Warren (sack) were all standouts on the defensive side of the ball for New England.

Even Deltha O'Neal made a play, picking off Bulger as the Rams tried to tie it at the end.

It wasn't pretty but it was a step forward for Cassel and the Patriots, who are now tied atop the AFC East since Buffalo lost to Miami yesterday.

There are no great teams in the AFC (assuming the Titans come back to earth) so the Patriots are in good shape to win their division and make the playoffs. We couldn't ask for much more at this point.

The Pats travel to Indy next Sunday night for a showdown with their biggest rivals, the Indianapolis Colts. It'll be interesting to see how the Colts do tonight against the Titans; Peyton and the Colts could easily be 1-5 rather than 3-3.

Uh, Didn't See that one Coming

And you thought the New England Patriots had issues? The Denver Broncos came to Gillette Stadium last night for Monday Night Football and laid an even bigger egg than the Patriots' recent losses to the Dolphins or Chargers (which is pretty hard to do). All was right in Foxboro (for one night at least) as the Patriots rolled, 41-7.

Since the Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2002, I don't think I've ever gone into a game with lower expectations than last night. Part of that was the simple fact of the Red Sox hangover from the night before, when Boston was eliminated in game 7 of the ALCS by the Rays. The other thing was I thought it was clear the Patriots had way too many issues to be any kind of factor in the NFL this season. Maybe, they'd sneak into the playoffs, but they wouldn't win a game in January.

I was completely wrong and I couldn't be more happier about it. We have to temper our expectations until the Pats do this in consecutive games but at least it makes the season seem much more promising.

Denver (4-2) fumbled on its first two possessions in New England territory but the Pats could only convert two Stephen Gostowski field goals: from 31-yards and 40-yards.

Sammy Morris had probably the game of his life and it all came in the first half as he left with a knee injury in the third quarter. He carried the ball 16 times for 138 yards. Ironically, this happened on a night when New England placed Laurence Maroney on season-ending IR.

A four-yard burst by Morris put the Pats up 13-0 and they opened up a 20-0 halftime lead as Matt Cassel (18 of 24, 185 yards, 3 touchdowns) found Randy Moss (5 catches, 69 yards) for a 13-yard touchdown.

The second half was more of the same as the Patriots' offensive line and every running back they plugged in completely dominated the Broncos. Jay Cutler (17 of 26, 168 yards) hurt his pinkie on the first play of the game and was inneffective the whole night. He tossed two picks, to James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather.

It was a game to remember for Moss and Wes Welker (6 catches, 63 yards). Moss turned a screen into a 27-yard touchdown and Welker found the end zone with a 6-yard catch and run.

Former Pats tight end Daniel Graham broke the shutout with a 10-yard catch early in the fourth quarter, making it 34-7 New England.

Rookie running back Benjarvus Green-Ellis (13 carries, 65 yards) scored his first NFL touchdown, plunging in from one yard out.

Another rookie, inside linebacker Jerod Mayo continued to impress with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

The injury bug was contagious on both sides: All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey left with a strained groin and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison was carted off with yet another knee injury. It did not look good for Harrison, who has had a terrible string of injuries the last few seasons. Every opposing fan hates him but it would be sad to see such a great career like his end like that.

The St. Louis Rams, fresh off impressive wins over the Redskins and Cowboys come to Gillette on Sunday afternoon. Who knows what to expect from either team? People will no doubt be jumping back on the Patriots' bandwagon but if we've learned anything so far this year, it's that they are schizophrenic.

Maybe this season won't be a complete waste after all

After stewing for two weeks (during a bye) following the thrashing by the Dolphins, the Patriots played a complete game yesterday in San Francisco, beating the 49ers, 30-21.

New England (3-1) started slow but ultimately controlled the game as they held a 39:52-20:08 time of possession advantage over San Francisco (2-2).

Matt Cassel answered many critics-myself included-with his best performance of the young season. He was 22 of 32 for 259 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The touchdown pass was the highlight of the game as he found Randy Moss (5 catches, 111 yards) for a 66-yard strike which tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.

Wes Welker was his favorite target as he hauled in eight catches for 73 yards.

Things did not start out so well for the Pats as Cassel was hit by Takeo Spikes on the first drive and was intercepted. J.T. O'Sullivan (130 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) promptly threw a pick right back as Brandon Meriweather did the honors. Shortly after, the 49ers got on the board as running back Frank Gore (54 yards rushing, 24 yards receiving) split out wide and beat Ellis Hobbs for a 16-yard TD catch.

Right after the Moss bomb, San Francisco retook the lead when O'Sullivan found 98-year old Isaac Bruce (49 yards, 2 TDs) for a 6-yard score.

The Patriots offensive line (which has famously been terrible since the Super Bowl) finally started to give Cassel some time in the second quarter while Cassel also got rid of the ball a little sooner (one of his issues). Stephen Gostowski's 35-yard field goal cut it to 14-10 San Francisco in the second quarter and the Patriots took a 17-14 lead into halftime after a Kevin Faulk (32 yards rushing, 29 yards receiving) 2-yard direct snap with six seconds left.

Lamont Jordan got hurt in the first half and Laurence Maroney didn't get off the sideline after the first few series but nevertheless, the Patriots' running game established the balance the team so desperately needed. Sammy Morris (16 carries, 63 yards) was his typical productive yet unspectacular self.

At the same time, the rested New England defense stepped up when it had to. Rodney Harrison made an interception in the second half, Tedy Bruschi made a stop on Gore and Adalius Thomas showed why he's such a beast.

Another 2-yard run by Faulk put New England up 24-14 in the third before Gostowski added another field goal (this one from 40-yards out).

Old man Bruce caught another score, from 5-yards out but a final kick by Gostowski (49 yards) iced it as the Pats got a satisfying win on the road.

One win over a pretty average team doesn't mean much, especially so early in the season but still New England fans have to be encouraged after the nightmare they witnessed two weeks ago. The Patriots look like they made some serious strides in practice and watching film. They'll stay out in California as they travel to San Diego next Sunday night for a game against the struggling Chargers (2-3).