Reminiscent of the infamous ‘Wide Right’ miss by Scott Norwood in Super Bowl XXV, Billy Cundiff’s failed 32-yard field goal attempt against the New England Patriots broke the hearts of Ravens’ fans worldwide. In addition to being a missed opportunity for Baltimore, it raises widespread concerns over whether or not the current side can mount another genuine shot at Super Bowl glory.

With defensive talismans Ray Lewis and Ed Reed both winding down their illustrious careers, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to maintain their high level performances for another season. Although Lewis has already moved to reassure fans he will be back next season, and remains confident of being able to challenge for the Super Bowl once more, he is not the only issue Baltimore will have to contend with as they move into the offseason.

Primary amongst Baltimore’s concerns will be resolving questionmarks over both defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Pagano has orchestrated another great season for the Ravens, helping them maintain their position as one of the best defenses in the league, ending the regular season ranked 3^rd in Total Defense, 3^rd in Sacks and 1^st in Forced Fumbles.

These kind of statistics are hard to ignore and Pagano has been linked with several of the vacant Head Coach positions around the league, and as such, ensuring his continued position at the Ravens must be a priority for Baltimore.

Questions of a different kind abound over the future of Cameron however, with the OC coming in for widespread criticism from both fans and pundits alike. Most prominent of these criticisms have been Cameron’s inability to get Ray Rice the touches he needs to be a dominant force in games, and his persistence to try and shoehorn Joe Flacco into a system which the quarterback is clearly not comfortable in.

Highlighting this problem has been the fact that some of Flacco’s best plays this season have come either in the no huddle offense or when he is escaping the pocket and giving his receivers more time to find space. Whether they stick with Cameron or decide to pursue an alternative, Baltimore need to make a decision quickly in order to ensure the least possible disruption come the preseason.

In terms of personnel on the playing field, the Ravens have key opportunities in the upcoming draft to address positions which are in need of an injection in both quality and depth. The first of these positions is the inside linebacker. Although Lewis has performed exceptionally given his age this season, he no longer has the pace to make himself a force in coverage, which means both he and Jameel McClain are focused on stopping the run, and leave the vaunted Ravens defense susceptible to the pass and feeling unbalanced.

Another receiver would also be top of the Ravens wish list, whether he is a tight end or a wide receiver. Rookie Torrey Smith has done well in his first sseason, but has yet to develop the ability to catch the ball consistently, whilst Ed Dickson showed signs of his potential early in the season, but like Smith, has a penchant for dropping passes which are relatively pressure free.

Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta have both acquitted themselves well this season, but the lack of reliable targets in his receiving core has led to Flacco recording his lowest completion rate since he entered the NFL, as well as his quarterback rating dropping to a similar level that he recorded in his rookie year.

Come the Ravens’ pick in the first round, inside linebacker Vontaze Burfict of Arizona State could be available, but would represent a high-risk reward scenario for Baltimore. None can doubt his talent, and he possess the speed that would make him an excellent tandem with both Lewis and McClain, but his form has been highly inconsistent this season and he has been known to give away unnecessary penalties when he lets his anger get the better of him.

These are flaws which can be corrected however, and there is arguably no better guy for him to learn from and have as a positive role model than Lewis. In terms of taking a receiver with their first round pick, the Ravens could do far worse than Mohamed Sanu of Rutgers who, whilst not quite possessing the top end speed of Smith, is a good route runner and has reliable hands.

An alternative to both of these could be Nick Perry of USC who is an outside linebacker with a great ability to rush the passer, making him the perfect option to line up opposite of Terrell Suggs and really torment opposition quarterbacks.

Whichever way Baltimore decides to go this offseason, fans can be left fairly assured that GM Ozzie Newsome has rarely led the Ravens astray in recent seasons and that between himself and Head Coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens will be in a good place come preseason and ready to give both Lewis and Reed probably their last shot at Super Bowl glory.

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The Dolphins were just 30 minutes away from pulling off a Christmas miracle in Foxborough. Tom Brady and the Patriots (12-3) came roaring back in the second half on Christmas Eve, erasing the Dolphins’ (5-10) 17-0 halftime lead as they would hold on to win the game 27-24.

The victory clinched the Patriots one of the top two seeds and a first round postseason bye following the Colts dramatic win over the Texans on Thursday night. “It’s good to clinch,” said receiver Deion Branch, “but not by the way we played. It’s not the way you want to do it.” Miami gave Pats fans quite a scare during the course of the first 30 minutes. The Dolphins defense, which had allowed only 14.7 points per game during their recent 5-2 stretch, sacked Brady three times while keeping New England’s high powered offense off the board.

Matt Moore and the Dolphins jumped at this rare opportunity and put together two impressive touchdown drives following a 47 yard field goal on the game’s opening possession. Just two plays after making a 47 yard catch downfield, Brandon Marshall caught a 19 yard touchdown to give Miami a 10-0 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. The drive went 82 yards on just 5 plays.

Interim head coach Todd Bowles remained aggressive. After forcing a quick 3 and out Miami added on another touchdown. A one yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay concluded an 11 play, 89 yard drive to put the Dolphins up 17-0 with 6:31 remaining in the half. Two long pass interference penalties aided the Dolphins along the way.

New England went into the locker room stunned after missing a 51 yard field goal attempt with only a few seconds left on the clock. A 17-0 score was the largest home halftime deficit for a Patriots team since trailing 18-0 to the Jets all the way back in 1999. The Dolphins were poised to give the Pats only their second home loss in 35 games – until Moore’s giveaways gave New England new life. “Our guys fought,” said Bowles, “but we didn’t finish.”

A fumbled snap by Moore early in the 3^rd was recovered by the Patriots’ Vince Wilfork at the Miami 38 following a 45 yard New England field goal to cut the lead to 17-3. Brady took advantage. He went a perfect 5-5 on the drive and finished off with a two yard scrambling touchdown pass to Deion Branch, making it a one possession game at 17-10.

The Pats then had a short field to work with after forcing a punt deep in Miami territory. Brady led his troops 41 yards downfield and tied the game with a one yard quarterback sneak with 2:17 remaining in the third. Although things were falling apart for the Dolphins, they were still in great position to take the lead to start the 4^th quarter.

Moore brought them down to the New England 44, but was intercepted by Devin McCourty down at the 2 on a ball that was held up in the air by the wind. Moore’s two turnovers proved costly despite going 17-33 for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Pats would eventually convert the pick into a 42 yard field goal to take their first lead at 20-17 with 8:55 left to go. A 59 yard drive and another quarterback sneak touchdown for Brady on their next possession pretty much sealed the deal with 2:56 remaining.

Miami could not stop Brady in the second half after shutting him down in the first. He finished 27-46 with 304 yards and 3 total touchdowns. “We had (Brady’s) number in the first half, but in the second half he came out and made a lot of plays,” said Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby. “He is a coach on the field.”

A late touchdown by Davone Bess made it a 27-24 game, but the Patriots converted a critical 3^rd down, ran the clock out, and secured the victory. New England has now won 7 in a row with just one game remaining before beginning yet another postseason run.

And while the Dolphins let this one slip away, there were some nice milestones reached in the meantime. Reggie Bush’s fourth straight 100 yard rushing game gave him over 1,000 yards on the year. Marshall also reached the 1,000 yard receiving mark, making this the first time in team history that Miami has had both a 1,000 yard rusher and 1,000 yard receiver in one year.
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The story catching everyone’s attention from Sunday’s Patriots Redskins showdown wasn’t tight end Rob Gronkowski breaking the NFL record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end. It wasn’t how the Patriots barely escaped Washington with a victory, or how the defense managed to do just enough to win the game despite surrendering 463 yards.

It was how Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien had a screaming match on the side line after Brady threw an interception. The Patriots were up by 7, and Brady tried to sneak one into Tiguan Underwood, but was picked off with just over 6 minutes to go in the game.

The Redskins got the ball and started marching down the field trying to send things to overtime as Brady and O’Brien were engaged in a screaming match. ”I threw a pretty bad interception, so he wasn’t happy about it,” said Brady, ”And there was probably a long line of coaches and players that were pretty (upset) at me after that, but Billy got to me first. He let me have it; I deserved it.”

Brady finished 22 of 37 for 357 yards three touchdowns and his first interception in over a month. He also passed Warren Moon for sixth on the all time touchdown list and crossed the 4000 yard mark for the fourth time in his illustrious career. Gronkowski had quite the day catching six passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns propelling him past Antonio Gates and Vernon Davis for most touchdowns by a tight end ever.

The Patriots hardly won an easy one, needing a penalty and a tipped pass to save the day. Santana Moss made a catch for the score, but it was negated by a pass interference call on Moss. On another play, Moss tipped a pass right into the hands of Jerod Mayo to seal the deal for the Patriots who have the worst defense in football.

Rex Grossman finished 19 of 32 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and the one interception. Roy Helu had another big day rushing for 126 yards on 27 carries. ”You kind of don’t want to give up those yards in the first place,” Patriots safety James Ihedigbo said. “But at the same time, we’re going to bow our necks once we get down there, and say, ‘Hey, they’re not getting in the end zone.’”

The Redskins had a great day despite missing both left and right tackles and tight end Fred Davis. The loss was bad, but the officiating really had the Redskins upset after the game. There was the flag on Moss late in the game, but another call where linebacker London Fletcher was flagged for hitting a sliding Brady with a forearm to the head. Replay showed that he clearly hit him in the chest. Coach Mike Shanahan said the call was “horrible.”

“We don’t get no calls around here, man,” Moss said. “You guys have been covering us for a long time. Y’all see what goes on out there. We blow our breath on one of the doggone guys over there and it’s a penalty. Our quarterback gets killed — and you just almost hit somebody that’s a quarterback and we get flagged. So a lot of stuff goes on. But I guess we’ve got to play against a team and the ref.”

New England continues their quest for the best seed in the AFC with a trip to Denver to face Tebow-mania and then back home to finish against the Dolphins and Bills. Washington, looking to finish the season strong heads to New York to try to play spoilers against the Giants, then home to play Minnesota and finish up their season at Philadelphia.

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It was the game at the beginning of the year that was marked on everyone’s calendar. The annual showdown between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Fast forward to Week 13 and the Colts are still winless and going nowhere fast without Manning under center. Starting at quarterback for the Colts was Dan Orlovsky the former UCONN quarterback in place of Curtis Painter who was benched due to poor play. He played well completing 29 of 38 for 353 yards two touchdowns and an interception.

“We felt confident going into the game that if we stayed patient we could move the ball,” Orlovsky said. “We fell short. I wish we had more time on the clock.” In what seemed like a sure fire blowout became a game when the Colts put up 21 points in fourth quarter to pull within one score. Deion Branch recovered the onside kick that kept the Colts from getting a chance to tie the game up.

“We played good for 45 minutes and then didn’t do anything offensively,” Brady said. “So we’ll hear about that.” The Patriots won their fourth straight and moved to 9-3 tied for the best record in the AFC with the Houston Texans while the colts who are 0-12 have only four games left against Baltimore, Tennessee, Houston, and Jacksonville to avoid becoming the second team in history to go 0-16.

“People can say what they want to say about not playing hard, but I think that (comeback) pretty much shut that up right there,” Colts tight end Jacob Tamme said. Tom Brady had his usual game completing 29 of 38 for 289 yards and two touchdowns, both to Gronkowski.

The touchdown passes put Brady past Johnny Unitas and into a tie for 6^th with Warren Moon for most touchdowns during the regular season. They also tied Gronkowski with Antonio Gates and Vernon Davis for most touchdowns by a tight end in a season. He had a third touchdown which was originally ruled a catch, but was later changed to a run because it was a lateral.

“I wasn’t thinking about whether it was a pass or a lateral,” Gronkowski said. “I’ll take the rushing touchdown. It’s the first of my whole career.” Gronkowski finished with 5 catches for 64 yards and two scores, while Wes Welker had 11 catches for 110 yards. ”Guys played well and did some things well,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said, “but, still, we’re measured by wins.”

Brady got the offense rolling after the Colts tied the game at three leading scoring drives on the next four possessions to put the Patriots up a by a commanding 28 points. The Colts got their first touchdown when Donald Brown ran it in from five yards out. Orlovsky then found Pierre Garcon, who had nine catches for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, for 33 and 12 yard scores.

“If we don’t play four quarters, we’re not going to end up in the situation we want to be in,” Welker said. Orlovsky definitely made Patriots Coach Bill Belichick aware of a glaring issue for his team, their defense. ”We’ve obviously got to do a better job of finishing the game,” Belichick said. “That was disappointing, but we’ll work on that.”

The Patriots continue their quest for the number 1 seed in the AFC when they head to Washington to face the Redskins who have lost five straight. The Colts don’t get a tougher task as they travel to Baltimore for a game with the Ravens who are also in the hunt for the number 1 seed.

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Backup quarterback Vince Young and the Philadelphia Eagles were unable to keep up the offensive attack on a strong New England Patriots defense, losing at home to their visitors 38-20.

On paper, Young seemed to have a very good game; he threw for 400 yards in the game on 26 completions for one touchdown and one interception. Receiver Jason Avant was Young’s main target, making eight receptions for 110 yards and the only touchdown. New England’s quarterback Tom Brady also had a great game, throwing for 361 yards on 24 complete passes for three touchdowns.

Wes Welker was Brady’s most successful receiver, making eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Deon Branch also helped move the ball downfield after his receptions, making six catches for 125 yards. The Eagles’ rushing game was not too successful with Young and running back LeSean McCoy rushing for a total of 71 yards in the entire game.

Patriots’ running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was able to make his runs count, rushing for two touchdowns on 14 attempts. The first quarter started out quite well for the Eagles, with McCoy rushing in for a touchdown on the Eagles’ first offensive possession. Four minutes later, field-goal kicker Alex Henery kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Eagles a ten-point lead.

However, the Patriots were able to get on the scoreboard in the final two minutes of the first quarter after Green-Ellis ran for a four-yard touchdown. The Patriots got back the lead early in the second quarter when Green-Ellis ran in for his second touchdown of the night, after the Patriots were able to move the ball downfield in under two minutes with only four plays.

The Patriots widened the distance between the Eagles six minutes later when Brady threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Welker, making the score 21-10 halfway through the quarter. The only points obtained by the Eagles came off the boot of Henery with two minutes left in the half, but was equaled by a 45-yard field goal kick from Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

The only offensive action that came in the third quarter came from the Patriots when, after eight plays that took the team 69 yards, Brady threw a 9-yard pass to Welker for his second touchdown of the night and strengthened the Patriots lead 31-13.

Receiver Rob Gronkowski widened the Patriot’s lead even further halfway through the final quarter after making a 24-yard touchdown catch from Brady after the team spent seven minutes with possession. However, although there was no sign of a possible comeback, the Eagles had the last say in the game after Avant caught a one-yard pass from Young in the final minute of the game, making the final score 38-20.

The Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) travel to Washington on Thursday to face the Seattle Seahawks, while the New England Patriots (8-3) head back home to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

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At the beginning of the year, the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles shared aspirations of winning a super bowl. The Patriots had Tom Brady, and the Eagles were hopeful after their multiple, big, free agent signings had been labeled a “dream team.”

Fast forward to Week 12, and the Patriots are in position to win the AFC East, securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs while the Eagles are sitting at 4-6, two games behind the Cowboys and Giants for first place. The Patriots’ final six games do not include a team with a winning record, and the Patriots are rolling after two straight blowout wins over the Jets and the Chiefs, outscoring the teams 71-19.

“We’re 7-3. I don’t think we’re really where we hoped to be at this point,” said Tom Brady. The Eagles would love to be where the Patriots are right now. They are looking to keep their momentum going following their 17-10 upset over the Giants at MetLife Stadium last Sunday. “You see the excitement and the smiles on the guys, and that’s what we need, what we have to have,” said Eagles quarterback, Vince Young.

Young looks like he will make his second straight start in place of the injured Michael Vick in the first meeting in almost five years between the two teams. The last meeting in 2007 saw the Patriots winning a close one, 31-28, behind Brady’s 380 yards and a touchdown.

Brady has recently been finding his tight end, Rob Gronkowski, who has 20 catches for 310 yards and five touchdowns in the Patriots past three games. Brady feels the team needs to make more improvements down the stretch, alluding to the slow start by the offense who was trailing Kansas City 3-0 in the first quarter.

“We’re going to need to play better than we did offensively (Monday), if we want to start making serious improvements down the stretch,” Brady said. The Patriots will need the defense to continue its recent good play. The defense which gives up a league high 404.2 yards per game has only allowed 357.7 yards over the past three games. “We have the possibility of being a pretty good defense as long as we play well and get better each week,” tackle Vince Wilfork said. “(We) can’t get complacent. That’s one thing we can’t do.”

The defense will have a tough test this week, facing an Eagles offense that features two superstar wide receivers, the league’s leading rusher LeSean McCoy, and even though he is not in the same caliber as Micahel Vick, Vince Young still provides problems with his ability to run the ball. “Both guys have been productive, and they have a lot of weapons to utilize,” New England coach Bill Belichick said.

“They do a good job of getting them the ball.” Young will have to improve from last week when he went 23 of 36 for 258 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He should have some help as DeSean Jackson hopes to play this week and Jeremy Maclin, who missed last week’s game, hopes to play as well.

The key for the Eagles will be how their defense, who has played better as of late, is able to handle Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Eagles have three  amazing cover corners in Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and former Patriot Asante Samuel, as well as a good pass rush which could cause some problems for the Patriots who are a pass first team.

New England will have to focus on the run a little more. Last week, they rushed for 157 yards on the ground, and facing a team that has struggled against the run, they will want to continue to build on that as they make their run toward a top seed in the AFC.

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All is where people thought it would be at this point in the season. The New England Patriots are 1^st in the AFC East and the New York Jets are chasing them for the divisional title as usual. Led by Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes, two which went to tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East with a convincing victory over the Jets at MetLife stadium on Sunday Night.

Brady finished 26 of 39 with 329 yards and the three scores, the biggest which came after the Jets pulled within a score 23-16 early in the fourth quarter. Brady led the team on an 84 yard drive capped by an 8 yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch who burned nickel back Kyle Wilson.

The victory was sealed with linebacker Rob Ninkovich intercepted Mark Sanchez on the next possession and returned it 12 yards for the score. The game was for first place in the East, and the Patriots cruised, snapping their two game losing streak and the Jets three game winning streak, while sweeping the season series.

The Bills entered Sunday tied for first, but were blown out in Dallas earlier 44-7. For the Jets this marked their first home loss of the season entering the game 4-0 at home. Coach Rex Ryan insisted that his team had greatly improved since losing to the pats a month ago in New England, but tonight wasn’t indicative of that. The Jets still have a lot to do if they want to take over the AFC East.

All day the Jets secondary had no answer for Rob Gronkowski who finished with 8 catches and 113 yards and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was good on his three attempts. The Patriots, who ranked last in the league coming into the game in sacks, saw Andre Carter collect 4 ½ alone as the Patriots were in Mark Sanchez’s face all game.

Sanchez had a dreadful game. He finished 20 of 39 for 306 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times. A 7 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress had the Jets right back in the game, but then Brady took over leading the Patriots down the field for a 13 play 84 yard drive using a no-huddle offense to keep the Jets off balance. The drive ate up half of the fourth quarter.

The key play came when Joe McKnight bobbled a muffed punt which set up a field goal. Isaiah Trufant had two chances to recover the punt, and Donald Strickland who let the ball squirt out of his hands, failed to recover the punt which eventually was recovered by Niko Koutouvides at the Jets 13.

The Patriots capitalized with another field goal to increase the lead. They got the ball right back when a Sanchez pass went off Shonn Greene’s hands and was deflected by Jerod Mayo into Ninkovich’s hands. The Jets played well early getting on the scoreboard with a safety when Jamaal Westerman got to Brady in the end zone forcing an intentional grounding.

The Jets took the ball and went down the field on a 7 play 65 yard drive capped by a 2 yard draw by Mark Sanchez to put them up 9-6. Though they got the score Sanchez made the mistake of calling a timeout instead of letting the clock run out. This gave Tom Brady plenty of time to drive down the field and answer with a touchdown right before the half.

Ryan, angry with Sanchez, told NBC at the half that the timeout call was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” The Jets opened the game with an impressive drive, but couldn’t punch it in and got no points when Nick Folk missed a 24 yard field goal wide left.

The Jets have a quick turnaround as they head to Denver to face Tim Tebow and the suddenly relevant Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots look to continue their good play as they head home to face former quarterback Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs who have lost two straight since winning four in a row.

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It’s been four years since one of the best Super Bowl’s ever, when Eli Manning and the New York Giants put an end to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots undefeated season in a stunning upset. Ask Manning and he’ll tell you he plays at Tom Brady’s level and this season he’s put the Giants on his back. The Giants have been suffering from injuries all season, but still find themselves at 5-2 atop the NFC East.

“Well, the question was if I thought I was an elite quarterback and basically, I was just saying that I did,” Manning said. “I’m usually not into the business of ranking and rating quarterbacks and comparing myself to other guys. Looking back, I thought I gave an honest answer, and I don’t regret anything.”

Manning’s play this season has done nothing but back up those words. He’s ranked third with a 102.1 passer rating behind only Brady who’s at 104.4 and Aaron Rodgers who is number 1 at an astounding 125.7.

“He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves,” guard David Diehl said. “For us, it’s something that we see. It’s the way that he works, the way he prepares either out on the field or breaking down film or getting with the wide receivers or checking and making alerts and audibles at the line of scrimmage.”

Manning should be in for another big day as the Patriots have the worst pass defense in the league giving up 323.1 yards per game. The Patriots are looking to bounce back and keep pace with either the Bills or the Jets as they got whooped by the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. It was the worst offense performance the team has had all year.

“It just wasn’t a really good day for us in any phase of the game, in any area,” Coach Bill Belichick said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job. That’s really all there is to say.” The Steelers doubled New England’s yards 427-213 and Brady threw for a season low 198 yards with two TD’s. This week won’t be easier as the Giants front four have been playing good lately.

The Giants have the most sacks in the NFL with 26. The Giants are pretty banged up going into this game. Receiver Hakeem Nicks is nursing a hamstring, running back Ahmad Bradshaw has a foot injury, stud defensive end Osi Umenyioa has a shoulder issue and he alone has 6 sacks so far this season. Center David Bass is also suffering from a knee injury.

With Nicks potentially out the Giants may have to rely on WR Victor Cruz who has played well this season and is the second leading receiver on the team. ”Anytime you get an opportunity to go in there and play and have an opportunity to be the number one or two guy and make some big plays, you always want to be excited,” Cruz said.

“Myself and Mario (Manningham) and Devin Thomas and Michael Clayton are going to have to step in and fill that void.” Brady needs to see Wes Welker pick up his production. He leads the league in receptions at 57 and has racked up 824 yards and six trips to the end zone. However, the last two games he’s been virtually shut out only bringing in 12 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.

The key to this game will be the offensive line of the Patriots against the defensive line of the Giants. If Matt Light and company can protect Brady he should have no problem picking apart the Giants banged up secondary though they have only been giving up 225.1 yards per game good for 13^th in the league.

If the Giants can get pressure on Brady they should be able to give Eli Manning ample opportunity to light up the league’s worst secondary. The Giants defense will give the Patriots problems at first, but Tom Brady should be able to figure things out and the Patriots will win a high scoring affair in Foxboro Stadium. Final Prediction: Giants 27 Patriots 34.

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When the 6-1 Patriots take on the 5-2 Steelers this Sunday we all will get a little preview of what may come later in the playoffs as both teams look to make runs at the Super Bowl. Both teams have been playing well as of late and this should be another classic showdown between one of the leagues’ best offenses and one of the best defenses.

New England is the No. 1-ranked offense and Pittsburgh is the third-ranked defense. On paper this would seem like an even matchup and for years the Steelers have been known for their staunch defense, but there is one thing that those stats don’t reflect: Tom Brady is the QB for the Patriots and if history shows anything it’s that Brady plays really well against the Steelers.

Brady is 6-1 all-time against Pittsburgh with a 104.8 career passer rating and a 67.8 completion percentage. You don’t have to be a sports analyst to know that those are astonishingly good stats against a team whose defense is usually its strong point. In the most recent matchup between the two from last year, Brady was 30 of 43 for 350 yards and three touchdowns.

Mike Tomlin, whose now in his fifth season coaching the Steelers, has yet to beat the Patriots. “He is just very good physically and mentally,” Tomlin said this week. “He is very talented in both areas. He is tough to trick, he makes quick decisions, he has pinpoint accuracy and he has the arm to do the things he desires to do.”

The Steelers run a base 3-4 defense with a lot of zone-blitzes that are designed to trick and disguise quarterbacks, but Brady always seems to be a step ahead of them. Brady’s ability, plus the personel for both teams favors the Patriots. The Steelers strength is not their secondary it’s their front seven.

With the way the Patriots utilize spread formations along with the emergence of tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, the Steelers are forced to sub out linebackers for more corners, or live with James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, and Larry Foote matched up against the more athletic tight ends.

With the way the Patriots have been able to run the ball this year–they are 10^th in the league–it’s a double edge sword for the Steelers. Not having James Harrison, who will miss his 4^th game due to an eye injury, hurts as well because it takes away from the Steelers pass rush, which as we have seen over the years is the only way to get to Brady.

On the flip side is the atrocious Patriot defense, especially the secondary, against Big Ben and the Steeler offense. The Steelers have the 9^th ranked pass offense and the Patriots have the 32^nd ranked pass defense.

This matchup should favor the Steelers  as Rashard Mendenhall has been running the ball effectively and with a WR core consisting of Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, and TE Heath Miller, the Steelers should have no problem exploiting the secondary.

This game has the looks of a shootout the question boils down to whether the Steelers can manage to stop Brady and if Big Ben, who isn’t known for putting up monster numbers in a game, can keep up with the high scoring Patriots. This is not to say that history won’t repeat itself again and that means that Tom Brady and the Patriots have the Steelers number.

Add to that giving Belichick an extra week to prepare and it is probable that the Patriots will win a high scoring. Final Prediction: Patriots 31 Steelers 21.

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To Jets fans dismay, the Jets are showing a very consistent pattern of losing games. Three weeks — three losses. The Jets were handed another loss at the hands of their division arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, and they can only blame themselves. The Jets gave a lackluster performance with sporadic play from the offense yet again.

Even with the return of All-Pro C Nick Mangold, the Jets offense couldn’t get much of anything going against the league’s statistically worst defense. After all the talk this week about getting back to the ‘ground & pound’ that made the Jets the team we’ve come to know in the past two years, the first three drives ended with Sanchez dropping back on third and short.

Schottenheimer, who has been under a ton of scrutiny from the media recently — especially with the report surfacing that the Jets’ three big-name WRs complained to Rex Ryan about the play calling, didn’t help his case with some awful play calls throughout the game. The offense couldn’t do anything outside of one really good drive which featured Shonn Greene, 83 yards for the game, a season high.

The offense had seven, counting the seven three and outs and a horrendous three for 11 on third downs. Compare that with the Patriots going 7 for 14 on third downs and you can see why the Jets didn’t win this game. Mark Sanchez only had 70 yards through 3 quarters against the worst pass defense in the league.

This is twice in three games where Sanchez has been ineffective against bad secondaries. His numbers make his game appear a lot better than what was seen. He didn’t do a good job managing the team and it appears as if he’s regressed from the past two years which showed so much promise.

The defense, numbers aside, played a good game. They kept Tom Brady in check limiting him to a pedestrian 321 yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Wes Welker coming in as the league’s leading receiver had 124 yards, but 73 of those came on one play where Eric Smith bit badly on a play action fake leaving the field wide open over the top.

Revis was on him for most of the game so he was out of commission for the majority of the game. However, as everyone knows, defenses will wear down the longer they’re on the field and such was the case with the Jets who also surrendered 136 yards to BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

A big chunk of those yards came on a late game sustaining drive for the Patriots in which the Jets defense just couldn’t get off the field. A lot of miscommunications, some poor tackling and 8 penalties added to the Jets demise in Foxboro. Again the lone bright spot was Joe McKnight who’s proving he’s the real deal in the return game.

He had another 88 yard return and was solid in the return game all day. The Jets finish 0-3 on their road trip and return home to face the winless Dolphins on Monday night. While the Dolphins haven’t won this won’t be an easy win for the Jets as divisional games combined with their recent poor play doesn’t guarantee anything.

While this recent skid doesn’t bode well, the season isn’t lost quite yet, but one thing’s for sure if the Jets don’t turn it around quickly they won’t be making the playoffs much less the Super Bowl like Ryan so boldly predicted at the beginning of the season.

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