Too Little, Too Late

The Patriots fell behind early, and couldn't do a thing against the Bronco's secondary. Antowain Smith showed flashes, but couldn't consistently rush for enough yardage to break up their defense. And our offensive line didn't quite have it either. Oh, and the punter was instrumental in one Denver touchdown. Of course, their kicker missed a couple of shots, and we won the turnover battle (which is the only reason we were still within 8 points).

Next week's game against Buffalo is a must-win; we've got to establish that we're better than the Bills before we can take on Miami. After that, we've got a stretch of 7 games where the only one we could justifiably lose would be against Oakland. If we can beat Buffalo twice, and win against all but Oakland, then we'll go into Miami at 10-5; they'll likely lose at Green Bay and split with San Diego and Oakland. That would leave them 11-4 going into the last game; at Gillette Stadium (can we nickname it "The Razor" or something?) on December 29. And, all things being equal, I'd have to pick the Dolphins: they've got a much better running game, and unless we get some of our mojo back between now and then, we're as flat as the Red Sox.