Cursed To First - Sox and Pats forever.

Notes on a Patriots Fish-squishing

It was a victory for hair.

Thoughts on the game that made it a 14-2 regular season, the third of the Belichick era...

Buffalo Bills turnovers give Patriots fans a merry day after Christmas

On this day after Christmas, the Buffalo Bills (and Patriots defense) gave to us...

Turnover #1 With just over three minutes to go in the first quarter, and the score 7-3 Patriots, the Bills drove all the way down to the New England 12 with an "assist" from Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington, who would be picked on all day for deep completions by the Buffalo offense. But there, deep in the red zone, Buffalo QB (and Harvard alum, as we were reminded ad nauseam) Ryan Fitzpatrick was dropping back for the kill when he found himself chased by Rob Ninkovich into the waiting arms of Gary Guyton. The ball came loose as Fitzpatrick was sacked, and was recovered by Jerod Mayo.*

The Patriots offense would capitalize on this with a touchdown to make it 14-3, New England. Score one for the Patriots linebacking corps.

Patriots survive Cheesehead invasion, 31-27

Packer by cdw9, on Flickr

I'm sure the first thing most Patriots fans will think of when they look back on this game will be offensive lineman Dan Connolly's 71-yard kickoff return toward the end of the second quarter. Much was made of the big man running, and the "loaf of bread carry" and so on.

"I don't think I've seen anyone carry a ball like that since I was about six," chuckled Cris Collinsworth during one of numerous replays of the anomaly from NBC's broadcast booth.

But from that moment until about halfway through the fourth quarter, whether Connolly steaming for the end zone was to be New England fans' consolation prize tonight, or the highlight of a win, was still in doubt.

Patriots survive Colts, 31-28

There's the face we all know and love...

Now at 6-4, the Indianapolis Colts are an injury-riddled team having trouble filling some of the gaps. But that didn't stop them from giving the Patriots absolutely everything they could handle today before running out of clock, or from knocking on the door, with a chance to come back and win, in the very last seconds of the game.

There were three factors that ultimately saved the Patriots: an aggressive game early, a two-dimensional offense, and forcing turnovers. But there were also a few things to be worried about going forward, with the Patriots still tied atop the AFC East at 8-2 and facing one more matchup with their bitter rivals to the south before the season ends.

Patriots Midseason Analysis PART DEUX: What's up with the defense?

Youth and inexperience, primarily. Lack of clear leaders at some positions.

But that's boring. And too broad. And too short for a blog post.

So here's the more detailed deal, as I far as I can discern it.