Patriots v. Packers

I'll be home for a very big game this weekend, as the Patriots welcome Green Bay to Gillette Stadium. After watching Green Bay pound the Chicago Bears last night, I'm worried. Our only advantage will be an extra day of rest, and added motivation. With Miami playing at Denver this week, we ought to be able to make up the ground we lost last week, and come out tied with a 4-2 record. However, if we lose, we'll be a disappointing 3-3, with Denver, Buffalo, Chicago, and Oakland coming up after our bye week. Those teams are a combined 12-7, and all pose real challenges. After that we can go on a run - the 5 teams we face before the (possible crucial) season finale against Miami are a combined 5-19 at this point, and none look playoff-bound.

For the record, Miami's schedule is tougher. While the Pats get Green Bay and Denver at home, Miami has to visit both places. Poor them. But other than that it looks quite similar, so the Pats have to win to win. Right?