Someday, Tom Brady will hang up the cleats and be remembered for being one of the greatest quarterbacks we ever have and ever will see, despite being selected with the 199^th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

But when that day does come, the final score of Super Bowl XLVI may ultimately be the deciding factor in how he is remembered – win or lose.

Yes, the two time league and Super Bowl MVP has already been the man under center to lead New England to three world championships in his first four years as the starter. There’s no doubt that this is leaps and bounds above what the majority of quarterbacks in this league would ever dream of accomplishing.

However, after losing to them in Super Bowl XLII, another loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants may eventually make a remembrance of Brady’s days in the NFL look like a tale of two careers – only if he fails to win another ring over the final years of his career, of course. Fans and analysts of the game would certainly still agree that he had an outstanding career once it’s over, but would immediately question his inability to make it back to the top after such remarkable success from the get-go.

The notion of ‘What if?’ is something to be considered with a loss in Indianapolis, as well. In the scenario that Brady once again falls short to Eli and never leads his team back to the top of the mountain, one of the first things that people will bring up during his induction into Canton is chatter about what he could have potentially accomplished. They’ll bring up points like, ‘What if he had won those two Super Bowls against Eli and won five? Would he be undoubtedly be the greatest ever?’

On the other hand, a victory in this game would at least open the door that begins comparisons to former 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana no matter what happens during the rest of Brady’s time in the league. Montana and former Steeler Terry Bradshaw are the only quarterbacks to have ever won four Super Bowls during their illustrious careers, but of the two, Montana has historically received more recognition for being a winner than Bradshaw. Brady wants nothing more than to join an exclusive class that includes the man he idolized growing up in California – Montana.

Brady is well aware of what this one game could potentially mean for him on an individual standpoint, and it will be very interesting to see how that affects his performance on Sunday.

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Everyone in America has been hearing or talking about Tim Tebow nonstop for the past few weeks. The Patriots were apparently tired of hearing it.

Behind Tom Brady’s three touchdowns, two passing and one running, the New England Patriots put an end to Tebow’s string of late game comebacks and clinched a playoff spot in a 41-23 win over the Denver Broncos.

“It was a really good day for us,” Brady said. “Very emotional game. It was really rocking early. We showed some mental toughness.”

The Patriots were able to bounce back from a horrendous start that saw them fall behind 17-6 as Denver scored on its first three possessions. Denver outgained New England 167 to 4 in the first quarter.

But unfortunately for the Broncos, there was no late game heroics as the fast start eventually turned into a fizzle as they didn’t do anything for the rest of the game. Three late turnovers, something Denver had been limiting during their winning streak, was too much to overcome.

“We did have things going pretty well early, scored on the first three possessions and felt like we were moving the ball good and then we put it on the ground,” Tebow said. “That’s something you can’t do against a great team and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Besides that, we were right there with them.”

Denver still controls their own destiny, but the road to an AFC West title goes through Buffalo and Kansas City, who knocked off the undefeated Packers ending their 19 game winning streak.

Tebow finished 11 of 22 for 194 yards along with 93 yards on 12 carries for two touchdowns, but was sacked four times.

The Achilles heel for the Broncos seems to be elite passers as they are 1-4 this season against the likes of Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Philip Rivers. Their lack of offensive scoring punch doesn’t seem to allow them to keep up with the quarterbacks who can sling it all over the field.

“He’s still the best out there, in my opinion,” Bailey said of Tom Brady. “And you make mistakes against a guy like that, he’s going to make you pay. That’s pretty much what happened all day.”

Brady finished 23 of 34 for 320 yards the two scores, one of which was to Ochocinco who found the end zone for the first time this season on a 33 yard reception. Brady again was able to pick up his subpar defense which gave up 167 yards on the ground in just the first quarter.

After falling behind the Patriots went into hurry up mode and Brady was able to find Aaron Hernandez from 1 yard out. Hernandez had a career game hauling in 9 passes for 129 yards.

The Broncos made things close late when Tebow scored on a keeper from 2 yards out to pull them to 34-23, but that’s when Tom Brady did what he does best, and led the Patriots down the field on a 80 yard clock draining scoring drive culminated by BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ 1 yard touchdown to put them up for good.

“The more we fight, the better this team gets,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “We knew they were going to come out fighting. They were going to come out fast and explosive. Our main goal was to weather the storm.”

The Patriots finish out the season against Miami and Buffalo as they look to secure the top seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

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The San Diego Chargers are finally playing well, while the Buffalo Bills have completely lost their way.

Behind Philip Rivers’ three touchdown passes, two of which went to Antonio Gates, the Chargers kept their playoff hopes barely alive in their 37-10 victory over the Bills Sunday, while eliminating the Bills from playoff contention for the 12^th straight season.

The Chargers have won two straight following a six game losing skid to move to 6-7, but a few minutes after their game ended the Broncos beat Chicago in overtime to move into first place atop the AFC West at 8-5. The Raiders are still ahead of the Chargers as well, despite losing to Green Bay sitting at a 7-6 record.

“Until they say we’re done, there’s always a chance,” said safety Eric Weddle, “Even if we were done, we’d be playing our hearts out.”

The Chargers will have to win out and hope they get some help from other teams to have a shot at winning the AFC West, but it won’t be easy as the Ravens, in a divisional race of their own, are up next for the Chargers.

For Buffalo, this marked their sixth straight loss and the final nail in the coffin on a season that started out with so much promise. The Bills started 5-2, but haven’t won in over a month and a half.

“I think the last few weeks we made some progress. Today obviously we took a step backward,” Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “We didn’t do anything well.”

Both teams came into the game desperate for a win to keep their seasons alive and the Chargers put their foot on the gas pedal and never let up.

Rivers finished with 240 yards on 24 of 33 passing and running back Ryan Matthews continued his good running with 114 yards on 20 carries.

The Bills tried to make it a game when Rivers fumbled a ball that was recovered by Bryan Scott in the end zone for a touchdown that pulled the Bills close at 16-10, but San Diego kept their composure and with a successful fake punt by Weddle, the Chargers were able to punch it in on Antonio Gates’ two yard reception.

“We had a very small window to make that a game and we didn’t stop that drive when they faked the punt,” Chan Gailey said. “We didn’t stop that drive and we couldn’t get anything going offensively consistently.”

After the touchdown on Buffalo’s first play, Fitzpatrick was picked off and it was returned by Steve Gregory for the touchdown to make the score 30-10 and seal the game.

Fitzpatrick finished the game 13 of 34 for 176 yards and two interceptions a far cry from the numbers he was putting up at the beginning of the year.

San Diego will need some help from other teams if they hope to make the playoffs trailing in the AFC West. Their schedule also doesn’t lend itself to them as they face the Ravens, Lions, and Raiders to finish the year. The Bills, now looking to play spoiler have the Dolphins, Broncos, and Patriots remaining on their schedule.

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The New England Patriots coasted to a victory Monday night over the Kansas City Chiefs, who were without their starting quarterback Matt Cassel, by a score of 34-3. After a slow offensive start Tom Brady and Co. were able to pick things up. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots got another score from Julian Edelman who returned a punt 72 yards for the score.

With the win the Patriots, who now sit at 7-3, increased their lead in the AFC East to two games, but by beating Kansas City who’s in the hunt for the wild card helped their division rivals the New York Jets.

No one was expecting much from the Chiefs who started quarterback Tyler Palko in place of the injured Cassel. He threw three interceptions, two which were picked off by Kyle Arrington, and the Chiefs only managed one scoring drive, a field goal that gave them the lead with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

“Three interceptions is inexcusable,” Palko said. “The game is hard enough as it is without making mistakes.” Palko finished 25 of 38 for 236 yards and three interceptions. The Patriots got off to a slow start punting on three of their first four possessions and the other ending in a fumble by Brady. On the next series Brady was sacked twice.

“Obviously, the first half we didn’t do anything,” Brady said. “I don’t think it could have gotten much worse.” After that the Patriots were lights out scoring on their next three drives. Brady found Gronkowski for a 52 yard touchdown in which Gronkowski ran for the last 35 yards and tiptoed the line barely remaining inbounds.

The Chiefs gave it right back when Arrington got his first of two picks to set up a field goal to make it 10-3 Patriots. ”We were still fighting and we knew it was a close game going into halftime,” Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis said. “They got a big play and a big score (Gronkowski’s second touchdown) in the second half and that started their rally.”

The Patriots drove 85 yards on plays to start the third quarter capping on a 19 yard pass to Gronkowski for his second score. Brady finished 15 of 27 for 234 yards and two scores. A minute after that Edelman got his chance and returned a punt for only the second time in his career to put the Patriots up 24-3 with just under nine and a half minutes left in the third.

Arrington got his second pick of the day on the next possession setting up another field goal by Stephen Gostowski to make it 27-3. ”We did too many things that get you beat in this league too many times,” Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said. The Patriots got their final score in garbage time when rookie Shane Vereen scored his first NFL touchdown on a 4 yard score with a minute left.

The Patriots look to continue their quest for the number one seed in the AFC when they travel to Philadelphia to square off with the Eagles. The Chiefs will try to stay in the hunt for the AFC West and the wild card, but without Cassel it will be hard. They head home to face Pittsburgh, but after that travel to Chicago and to New York before heading back home to face the Packers.

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The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs have connections with each other. From the GM of the Chiefs, Scott Pioli, to the currently injured quarterback of Kansas City, Matt Cassel, to the defensive coordinator for Kansas City, Romeo Crennel. The one thing they don’t share is success on the football field.

The Patriots are coming off a crucial road win against the Jets to gain sole possession of first place in the AFC East and sweeping the season series with New York. The Chiefs have dropped two straight after winning four in a row, but without their starting quarterback, they will have to turn to Tyler Palko to keep them in the hunt for the AFC West.

For the Chiefs, they might not be getting Cassel back anytime soon. Coach Todd Haley said Cassel suffered a “significant” hand injury against the Broncos last Sunday and potentially could miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on Monday. Palko has only thrown 13 passes in the NFL and will be leading the Chiefs for now.

“Tyler is the next in line, and he’s done a terrific job, like I said, of keeping himself ready,” Haley said. “That’s what the No. 2 quarterback has to do, because you don’t know. At a moment’s notice, you could be in there playing, just like any other position.” The Patriots, on the other hand, are sitting pretty atop the AFC East after responding well against the Jets behind Brady’s 329 yards and three touchdowns.

Brady will look to continue that against a defense ranked 22^nd overall giving up 364.3 yards per game. ”No matter what happened last week, whether we won, lost, at home or on the road or in London, it doesn’t matter. Once that game is over, we have to put it behind us,” Belichick said.

“Now it’s about preparing for Kansas City, what they do, what their schemes are, what their players are, what their tendencies are in certain coaching decision situations that we’ll have to make.” Brady has not faced the Chiefs since the season opener in 2008 in which he was knocked out for the year, which led to Cassel starting for the Patriots and eventually getting traded to Kansas City.

“In order to make plays, you have to run good routes, you have to make good throws, you have to pass protect against one of the best pass rushers that we face in (Tamba) Hali,” Brady said. Hali has 6 of the Chiefs 9 total sacks, but even with pressure from him Brady should be able to find his tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

The Patriots offense has never been the problem; the problem lies with the defense that played very well against the Jets. Defensive end Andre Carter had four sacks against the Jets and, if he can keep that going, the battered Patriots secondary could have an easier time.

Cornerback Devin McCourty who suffered a shoulder injury in the game against New York will likely be out for a few weeks and safety Patrick Chung is questionable this week. Without those players, the Patriots may not be able to match up against wide receiver Dwayne Bowe who has 19 touchdowns since 2010.

Coach Bill Belichick isn’t counting on a significant drop off from Cassel to Palko. “I think that Palko can do everything that he needs to do from what Matt has done,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect them to deviate too far from what they like to do.” This is a must win for both teams.

The Chiefs are looking to keep pace in the crowded race for the West and the Patriots look to increase their lead over the Jets, who lost on Thursday to Denver, and stay a game ahead of Buffalo who right now owns the tiebreaker having beat the Patriots back in Week 3.

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No change at the very top this week with the Packers remaining undefeated and the 49ers remaining a 1 loss team, but after that there were some shakeups. The Steelers moved into first with the best record in the AFC as they beat Cincinnati. The Saints and Bears break into the top 5 with solid wins over divisional rivals. The big winners for the week were the Patriots, Cowboys, Titans, and Broncos.

The Patriots took control of the AFC East with a win over the Jets and moved from 13^th up to 8^th. The Cowboys beat up on the Bills and moved to 12^th from 15^th and look to continue moving up with an easy schedule ahead of them.

The Titans saw Chris Johnson finally break out and with Matt Schaub potentially out for the season they look to make a run at the AFC South title. The Broncos are now at 19 after being 23 the week before as they notched another win against Kansas City which puts them right in the race for the AFC West title.

Other notable winners are the Cardinals who jumped from 29^th to 22^nd and the Seahawks who moved from 28^th to 24^th. The big losers this week are the Ravens, Lions, Eagles, and Redskins. The Ravens fell from 3^rd to 7^th with a bad loss to the Seahawks, but with a season sweep of the Steelers they’re still in the thick of it.

The Lions fall from 4^th to 10^th  got pummeled by the Bears who got 2 defensive touchdowns and a Devin Hester punt return, while injuring quarterback Matt Stafford. The Eagles nightmare season continues as they fall from 18^th to 23^rd after losing to the Cardinals. The Redskins fall from 22^nd to 26^th with a fifth straight loss, this one at the hands of the Dolphins, and no answer for their quarterback problem.

Another notable loser is the Panthers who fell from 26^th to 30^th. Bringing up the rear yet again this week is the Colts who fell to 0-10 after losing to the Jaguars and their bye week couldn’t have come any sooner for a team in need of a lot of help.

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There is no secret about the game plan when facing a Denver Broncos team led by Tim Tebow. There will be a lot of options and running the ball and virtually no throwing. While it may seem easy to defend, Tebow is 3-1 since taking over the starting job in Denver.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss at home to the Patriots that all but killed any chance of them winning the AFC East, and looking to bounce back on a short week when they face the Broncos, who are suddenly back in the race for the AFC West, on Thursday night.

The Jets had a golden opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny and the AFC East, but lost 37-16 to the Patriots and snapped a three game winning streak. The game was characterized by sloppy play, including a missed 24 yard field goal, a muffed punt that the Jets failed to recover three times, a pick six, and a stupid timeout.

Sanchez didn’t show up to play, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times. The timeout he called before the half prompted coach Rex Ryan to tell NBC at halftime that it was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” ”There’s plenty of football left to play,” center Nick Mangold said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to get out there Thursday night and, you know, right the wrongs.”

The Jets are facing the polar opposite this week as the Patriots featured a lot of spread offenses while the Broncos are strictly a running team. This might pose some problems for the Jets defense that statistically is better against the pass with their talented cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Jets rank 8^th against the pass giving up 210.8 yards per game.

On Sunday Denver rushed the ball 55 times in its win over Kansas City and had 244 yards on the ground. Tebow only attempted 8 passes all game completing 2, though one of the completions was a 56 yard touchdown to Eric Decker. The Jets faced a season-high 39 pass attempts Sunday against the Patriots holding them to 60 yards on 28 carries.

The Jets are still only rank 15^th against the run giving up 116.0 yards per contest. The Broncos have the 2^nd best rushing attack in football averaging 158.2 yards per game, but have been averaging 246.0 yards in their past three games. ”I think it’s just one more thing for people to prepare for,” Tebow said of Denver’s unique offense.

“It’s not like we went out there and did a lot (Sunday) but it’s something you have to scheme for, you have to prepare for and you have to be sound.” There might be some changes for the Broncos in the backfield, though it likely won’t change how the team runs the ball. On Sunday starter Willis McGahee left the game with a hamstring injury and is listed as Questionable.

Backup Knowshon Moreno also was hurt Sunday suffering a torn ACL which will end his season. Sunday they had to turn to third string tailback Lance Ball who was effective rushing for 96 yards on 30 carries, with Tebow adding 43 and a score on 9 carries. They will turn to Ball and second year back Jeremiah Johnson if McGahee can’t go.

The Jets also look to run the ball, though not to the extreme that the Broncos do. They’re averaging 125.5 yards on the ground in their last four games with Shonn Greene averaging 80.8. LaDanian Tomlinson who was hurt late in the game Sunday will not play this week and the Jets have activated rookie Bilal Powel from the practice squad.

The last meeting between the teams was last year and the Jets won 24-20 with a late touchdown from Tomlinson to seal the win. Tebow was only used as a runner in that game carrying the ball 6 times for 23 yards.

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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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When the Jets and Patriots met a month ago, the Patriots handed the Jets their third straight loss and made people question whether the Jets would even make the playoffs, let along make good on Rex’s usual preseason guarantee. Now the Jets have the chance to do the same thing right back to the Patriots.

The Jets have been hot lately, and they are undefeated at home this season. They’ve won the past two meetings at home against New England and on Sunday have a great opportunity to give the suddenly vulnerable Patriots their third straight loss, which would be their first since 2002.

“Both teams are going to be humming for this one, no question,” Rex Ryan said. “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but they know they need it and we know we need it. Both teams are going to be hungry.”

During their three game losing streak the Jets gave up at least 30 points and fell two games behind the AFC East lead. Three wins later and New York is 5-3 and back into a tie for 1^st with Buffalo and New England. The defense looks like the defense of old, circa 09’ and 10’, allowing only 38 points and forcing 8 turnovers in the past three games. Their last win was a convincing one 27-11 over the Bills last week.

“We definitely have been getting better these last three weeks,” Ryan said. “But we’re going to see how much we’ve improved.” While the defense is playing better they will still face a tough task against Tom Brady and the Patriots who are ranked second in the league averaging 437.3 yards per game.

However in the Patriots past three games they’ve failed to score more than 20 points. Against Pittsburgh two weeks ago they managed only 213 yards total and didn’t score in the first half last week against the Giants. They also committed four turnovers against New York last week which is the third time they’ve done so this year compared to only 1 turnover through their final eight games last year.

Tom Brady isn’t having his best year as he already has 10 interceptions which is the third most in the league compared to only four all of last year. ”Just decision making,” Brady said. “I’ve just got to make better decisions.” The problem for the Patriots though hasn’t been the offense. There issue is the defense which is dead last in passing allowing 314.0 yards per game and is the only team allowing 300+ passing yards in the league.

“I think everybody can do a better job,” Bill Belichick said. “That includes everybody — it includes me, it includes all the coaches, it includes all the players. There’s room for improvement for all of us.” The Patriots cut Albert Haynesworth on Tuesday who they had brought in hopes that he could help improve their defensive front.

They also brought in wide receiver Chad Ochocinco hoping he could give them some sort of a vertical threat, but he hasn’t made a catch in three games. Last week Brady targeted him five times. ”He’s continued to do a great job in practice in his role that he’s really carved out for himself,” Brady said, “and he’s going to continue to be out there and, hopefully, make a bunch of plays.”

The patriots will need him to start making plays to give them a some semblance of a deep threat, because due to his lack of production the Patriots have had to rely extensively on Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. With Welker likely being matched up against All-Pro corner back Darrelle Revis his job will be even tougher this week.

Welker had a big 73 yard reception in the last meeting against the Jets, it came when he was lined up opposite Revis. He was otherwise held to a very pedestrian day only catching four balls for 51 yards. ”Sometimes I was throwing him on the ground, sometimes he was catching some balls on me,” Revis said. “I call him the ‘Energizer Bunny’ because he never stops — it doesn’t matter what you do to him, he just keeps on coming and coming.”

The key for the Patriots last time the two met was the run game. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots racked up 152 yards on the ground. The Jets defense has been playing well against the run lately, though they are still ranked 22^nd giving up 123.0 yards per game. They will be getting defensive end Mike DeVito back who is a big part of their run defense so that bodes well for the Jets.

Though the Patriots pass defense is bad, the Jets will continue to rely on their run game as they have the past few games. Shonn Greene has stepped up and the Jets are averaging 130.7 yards over the three game win streak up from 76.2 before. A lot of the resurgence has to do with All-Pro center Nick Mangold fully healing from injury.

The return to the run game has also helped the passing game as Mark Sanchez has 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions with a 63% completion rate over the past four games. Sanchez has done well at home against the Patriots posting a 114.5 passer rating and a 2-0 record.

With the recent struggles of the Patriots and the Jets playing well lately and at home the game will be a close one. The Jets should be able to learn from the Steelers and their New York NFC counterparts and be able to keep Brady off balance in the passing game. Unless the Patriots get another big day from the run game the Jets will be hard to beat at home.

When it’s all said and done the Jets should be able to hand the beleaguered Patriots their third straight loss and move into first place in the AFC East. Final Prediction: Patriots 24 Jets 27

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The Bills come into the game on Sunday looking to avoid losing two in a row for the first time this season when they travel to Jerryworld to square off with the Cowboys who are trying to keep pace with the Giants for the NFC East. “The focus is trying to win a game. … We got everything in front of us — we hold our own destiny in our own hands, so we gotta go take care of business,” coach Chan Gailey said.

Buffalo, who sit at 5-3 tied atop the AFC East with the Patriots and the Jets, failed to take care of any business last Sunday against the Jets. They fell 27-11 and saw their high power offense, which is tied for the highest scoring in the AFC with the Patriots at 27.8 points per game, sputter as the Jets made them look like the one win Dolphins. The Bills went 3 for 11 on third down and turned it over three times.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions and had his worst game of the year going 15 of 31 for 191 yards and a touchdown. ”It was a bad game,” said Fitzpatrick. “We certainly didn’t have our best effort out there, and I think that’s where a lot of disappointment and frustration comes in.”

Fitzpatrick will look to bounce back facing a Cowboys pass defense that’s right in the middle of the pack ranked 16^th giving up 232.5 yards per game. The Bills are led by running back Fred Jackson who is having a career year leading the AFC at 100.4 yards per game and helping the Bills to the 7^th ranked rushing attack with 135 yards per game.

However, the Jets held the team to only 96 yards on the ground and forced Jackson’s first fumble of the year. They will look to get back to the run, as Dallas has struggled lately giving up 401 yards on the ground the past two weeks. Dallas will get Sean Lee back who is their leading tackler and this should help them somewhat.

For Buffalo to keep pace for the AFC East title they’ll have to go at least 2-1 on their three game road trip facing Dallas, Miami, and then the Jets again before heading home to face Tennessee. ”It will be a difficult stretch, but we don’t have to play all three of them at the same time,” Jackson said. “If we go out and continue to make plays like we have been throughout the season, we feel like we’ll be OK.”

Buffalo has struggle so far on the road this year by going 1-2, but the losses came against the Giants and the Bengals, both who are in first place in their divisions. Each loss was only by three points. The Cowboys sit at 4-4, but are looking to make a push in the second half of the season as they benefit from an easy schedule. They also benefit from the first place Giants having a tough stretch over the next few weeks.

After the Bills the Cowboys face Washington, Miami, and Arizona who have a combined record of 6-18. After that, the Giants come to town in what looks to be a pivotal matchup. ”We’ve done a lot of things to build on over the first eight games, a lot we can be positive about. … But we have to get better,” said Garrett

When starting running back Felix Jones got hurt, people expected the running game to take a step back, but the opposite has happened with rookie DeMarco Murray shining rushing for 466 yards in three games. They hope he can keep it up against a Bills run defense that ranks 20^th giving up 120.8 yards per game.

“We are going to have a great 1-2 punch when Felix gets healthy,” Witten said. “It’s going to put us in a great situation.” The Cowboys are a little banged up with Felix Jones still being questionable and wide receiver Miles Austin out for possibly a month after he reinjured his hamstring last week.

With no Austin, Dez Bryant figures to see a lot more targets, along with tight end Kevin Ogletree and wide receiver Laurent Robinson. Buffalo’s defense, while rich with playmaking ability, they lead the AFC with 15 interceptions, isn’t that great. They rank 25^th against the pass giving up 260.4 yards per game.

The game should be a close contest as both teams can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Both teams need to win to keep pace in their respective races, but with the Bills on the road and Dallas’ defense being run by Rob Ryan, Rex’s twin brother, they will see a dose of the same stuff they saw against the Jets. The Cowboys should be able to get a win at home. Final Prediction: Bills 17 Cowboys 27.

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The Packers are again at the top of the Power Rankings this week as they remain undefeated. The Ravens and Steelers switch spots after Joe Flacco led a late drive to win the game at Heinz Field. The Bears, Texans, and Bengals all cracked the top 10 this week with the Patriots and Bills both losing and falling out of the top ten.

The big winner this week is the Dallas Cowboys who jump from 21^st to 15^th, with a win over Seattle to stay within striking distance of the Giants who have a tough schedule coming up. Another big move was the Jets who while only moving from 13^th to 11^th with their win over Buffalo, have jumped both the Patriots and Bills to be the highest ranked AFC East team.

The big losers this week are the New England Patriots who fell from 6^th to 13^th after their second straight loss. The Bills also saw themselves fall from 14^th to 8^th after getting beat at home by the Jets. The Chiefs dropped from 21^st to 16^th after their four game win streak was snapped by the winless Miami Dolphins in a big way.

The Cardinals, who last week fell behind the Rams, switched with the Rams again this week after beating St. Louis in OT on an amazing punt return by rookie Patrick Peterson. Rounding out the bottom of the rankings again this week are the Indianapolis Colts who lost again this week and look like they’ll be the front runners for Andrew Luck in next year’s draft.

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The New York Giants repeated a comeback victory, similar to their 2008 Superbowl championship game, against the New England Patriots, scoring the final minutes to win 24-20 on Sunday.

There were no scoring drives in the first half of the game; however, the Giants where able to take the lead off a 22-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes, then a rushing touchdown from Brandon Jacobs a minute later, giving them a 10 point lead. Stephen Gostkowski was able to get the Patriots on the board with a 32-yard field goal with five minutes left in the quarter, making the score 10-3.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Tom Brady through the tying 5-yard pass to Aaron Hernandez for the Patriots’ first touchdown of the game. The Patriots took the lead in the third quarter off a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, making the score 13-10.

The final three minutes of the game was where all the action and tension was. Eli Manning took charge in an 85-yard streak of plays that ended with a 10-yard pass to Mario Manningham and a lead for the Giants. Brady responded by leading nine plays downfield for 64-yards, finishing up with a 14 yard pass to Rob Gronkowski, which gave the Patriots a 20-17 lead with a minute left in the game.

But a minute was all Manning needed to get the ball downfield in eight plays, and thanks to a 20-yard pass interference call on Patriots safety Sergio Brown that left the ball spotted on the one-yard line, a touchdown pass to Jake Ballard finished the game with the Giants winning 24-20.

The Giants (6-2) travel to California to face the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday, while the New England Patriots (5-3) travel to New Jersey to face the New York Jets.

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The New York Jets had a bye week that came at the worst time. They had gained some momentum and were riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye. And given their recent history under coach Rex Ryan coming off of byes (they’re 0-2), they’re hoping to change things and are confident that they won’t have a drop off due to time off.

Ryan was at a loss when asked about the trend of his team coming out flat after time off, but said this year that can’t happen. “We have to do something about that trend,” he said. “We need to win this week.” Every game has become a must win for the Jets, especially since the Jets are one game behind the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots for first place, and they face these two teams in the next two games.

Even CB Darrelle Revis called the game against the Bills this Sunday a must win. “You can’t focus on the past coming off byes and losing,” Revis said. “It’s a new year and we’re in control of our destiny and where we want to go.” The Jets do in fact control their own destiny even after a three game skid as if they can take both of the next two games they could potentially be sitting atop the AFC East.

Lose both games, and the Jets’ season could be close to being over. The Jets have owned the Bills in the past few years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two, and that includes three wins in Buffalo. Ryan believes the practices have been good, and the Jets look very alert and aware of the situation which he hopes will translate into a good showing out of the bye.

But the Jets have lost all three of their away games this season and hope to end the streak at three with a win on Sunday. “Would we like to have had a better record? Absolutely, we would’ve, but we don’t,” Ryan said. “We’re 4-3, but we have it right in front of us. The teams you have to beat are right in front of us, so we’ll know. These next few weeks are going to be critical for us.”

Buffalo on the other side sits at 5-2 atop the AFC East and is coming off their best performance of the year dominating Washington 23-0 up in Toronto. They only gave up 178 yards had two picks to add to their league lead 14, and recorded 9 sacks. This was way better than their five previous games in which they gave up 414+ yards in each game.

“You hope that your team gains confidence from that, and that your defense sees how well they can play,” coach Chan Gailey said. “It should create more confidence.” The Bills are 26^th in the league giving up 385.9 yards per contest, but the Jets’ offense isn’t much better ranked 29^th and averaging 300.1 yards per game.

The problem for Buffalo is that the Jets have recently been playing better, including their season high 162 yards on the ground in their last game against San Diego in which Shonn Greene had 112 yards. This isn’t good for a Buffalo defense that struggles stopping the run. The Jets average 279.0 yards on the ground in the past four meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo does benefit from having Fred Jackson on their side and they are ranked fifthin rushing averaging 140.6 yards per game. Jackson is ranked second in the NFL averaging 103.0 yards and is sixth rushing touchdowns. His 353 yards receiving out of the backfield is good for fourth among running backs. This matchup looks good compared to the Jets who are 25^th against the rush giving up 126.9 yards per game.

They will have to rely on their backfield because Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 62.0 rating in four games against the Jets and, with CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, look for TE Scott Chandler to have a big game as the Bills will try to take advantage of the safeties down the seams the one weakness of the seventh ranked pass defense.

The Bills defense is 20^th against the rush and 24^th against the pass. The Jets’ offense, which saw a boost against the Chargers as WR Plaxico Burress and RB Shonn Greene had breakout  games, is looking to keep the momentum going. Mark Sanchez needs to out-manage Ryan Fitzpatrick if the Jets want to win this game.

This will be a good game that will come down to a key play or drive. Each team is riding momentum and playing well as of late and I believe that the Jets with a few more playmakers on their team will be able to pull the game out late. Final Prediction: Jets 27 Bills 21.

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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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Besides the Packers which are again atop the Power Rankings this week, there is some shake up near the top of this week’s rankings with some big losses and gains. The 49ers move up into the number 2 spot sitting at 6-1 atop the NFC West. The Steelers, after their big win over the Patriots, move up to number 3 and are the top team in the AFC just ahead of division rivals Baltimore who moved from 8^th to 5^th.

The Patriots and Saints saw themselves drop four spots from 2^nd and 3^rd to 6^th and 7^th respectively after bad losses this week. The Chargers are the big losers this week dropping all the way from 7^th down 15^th after a loss for the 2^nd straight week this time coming at the hands of division rivals the Chiefs.

The Eagles saw themselves jump four spots from 22^nd to 18^th after an impressive victory over the Cowboys. The Vikings also saw themselves making a jump from 28^th to 23^rd behind a second impressive game from rookie QB Christian Ponder and another stud performance from Adrian Peterson.

The Rams who got their first win of the season against the Saints saw themselves leapfrog the Cardinals who blew a 23-6 halftime lead against the Ravens. Bringing up the rear of the rankings again this week are the Dolphins at 31 and the Colts at 32 as both teams failed to get a win again and don’t look very good.

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It’s the home game away from home. For the past few years the Buffalo Bills travel north of the border to play a ‘home’ game in Toronto, but until Sunday this hasn’t been a good thing for the Bills. Sunday was the first win in four tries since the cross-border series started back in 2008.

This was also the first shutout in Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan’s long and illustrious 24 season career as a coordinator or head coach. For the Bills it marked the paying off of the recent contract extension given to Ryan Fitzpatrick, 6 years $59 million, as well as, giving the fans in Canada, who haven’t been the most supportive of their Buffalo brethren, reason to cheer.

Fitzpatrick was able to find TE Scott Chandler for two touchdowns and the Bills defense which has been one of the worst in the NFL this season had a monster game racking up 9 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a blocked field goal. They held the Redskins to 178 yards of total offense and only 10 first downs. The injury riddled Redskins had no answers for the Bills on either side of the ball all game.

Safety George Wilson called the Toronto fans passion as well as loyalty into question in the week leading up to the game, but came to find that the Bills were the drawing most of the cheers from the crowd. ”That was one of the things coming in, give them something to cheer about. And I thought we did that today,” said Fitzpatrick, “I think there was more excitement out there than there has been in years past.”

It was a great overall performance,” said defensive end Spencer Johnson, who had a sack and blocked Graham Gano’s 49-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter. “To shut anybody out in the NFL, that’s a big feat, a big accomplishment and a big step in the right direction.”

Fred Jackson, who’s putting up MVP numbers, had another great game posting 120 yards on the ground and 74 yards receiving. This put Jackson at over 1000 yards from scrimmage 7 games into the season which makes him only the fourth Bill in history to do so and the first since Thurman Thomas did so in 1991.

Another bright spot for the Bills was the emergence of first round draft pick Marcell Dareus who started in place of injured NT Kyle Williams. Dareus had 2 ½ sacks, leading the defense for the day.

The Bills overall looked solid against the injured Redskins, but they will face a much tougher test next week as they square off against division rivals the New York Jets back in Ralph Wilson Stadium. With the Patriots loss, the Bills are currently tied for first in the AFC East.

This will be a real measuring game for the Bills as the Jets have a better offense and a much better defense than the Redskins. The Jets are also riding a two game win streak and have had an extra week to prepare for the Bills.

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While the schedule may say a home game for the Bills, the teams are traveling north to Toronto for the Bills annual “home” game in Canada. Buffalo is 0-3 since signing the five year deal with Toronto-based Rogers Communication in 2008 to play one home game in Toronto each year.

“It’s not a home game,” safety George Wilson said. “The fan support in Toronto is a night-and-day difference from what we have in Buffalo (at Ralph Wilson Stadium). For the most part, it’s a show. You see just as many jerseys for the opposing teams as you do the Bills. They cheer for any big play regardless of whichever team makes it.”

Buffalo is coming out of a bye that couldn’t have come at a better time. The team is ravaged by injuries and has dropped 2 of 3 since starting 3-0 and needs all the help it can get. So far their No.2 receiver Donald Jones is out, defensive tackle Kyle Williams is out indefinitely, and linebacker Shawne Merriman was placed on the injured reserve Tuesday with an injury to his Achilles.

Add to that starting LT Demetrius Bell is doubtful after missing two straight and this is a team that needed its bye week more than ever. The Redskins are in the same boat without the help of a bye week.

Their best receiver and down field threat Santana Moss broke a bone in his left hand last Sunday and will be sidelined for a few weeks, and their leading rusher Tim Hightower is out for the season after tearing his ACL in the same game.

They also placed tight end Chris Cooley on the injured reserve this week, and its possible London Fletcher will be out with a hamstring injury. For Fletcher this might be the first missed game of his 14 season career and would be a big loss for the Redskins defense which has been struggling as of late.

The Bills have one of the worst defenses in football ranking thirtieth in pass and run defense and has surrendered 414 yards in five consecutive games so the lack of offensive weapons for John Beck whose making his second consecutive start will help the Bills though Beck did play a good game last week going 22 of 37 for 279 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

They’re doing well due to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson who have helped turn this into one of the highest scoring offenses in football. They are averaging 31.3 points a game. The downside is that, in the two games they’ve lost, they’ve failed to score 30+ points.

The Bills have the fourthbest rushing attack averaging 141.0 yards and they’re going up against a Redskin defense that has surrendered 367 yards in the past two weeks, both losses. Jackson had a big game putting up 82 yards on the ground and 69 receiving a few years ago the last time these two teams met, which was a 17-16 win for the Bills in Washington.

With the Bills’ offensive power and Washington’s lack thereof, the Bills should get their first win in Toronto over the Redskins to move to 5-2 and stay at least 1 game behind the division-leading Patriots, who don’t have an easy game going into Pittsburgh. Final Prediction: Bills 31 Redskins 17

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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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The Packers top the Power Rankings again this week with another impressive performance from Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers make a push for the top jumping up to 5^th, and with a win over number 2 New England can jump up next week. The Texans, Falcons, and Chiefs all jumped up 5 spots to 12^th, 14^th, and 19^th respectively.

The Ravens saw themselves drop from 3^rd to 8^th after a horrible loss to the Jaguars. The Raiders dropped 7 spots from 9th to 16th after trouble at the QB position post Carson Palmer trade gave them a loss going into their bye week. The Bucs also dropped 5 spots from 12^th to 17^th after getting whooped in London by the Bears.

The Colts again round out the bottom of the rankings this week after getting obliterated by the Saints 62-7 and they don’t look poised to move anytime soon.

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The Packers still hold the top spot in this week’s Power Rankings. The 49ers and Giants are the big winners both jumping five spots up to 4^th and 10^th respectively. This week’s big losers are the Texans who fall five spots down to 17^th and the Cowboys who dropped from 14^th down to 21^st. The Colts, Rams, and Dolphins still round out the bottom of the pack.

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With your team down by three with under two minutes left to go, who would you rather have leading your team down the field than Tom Brady? That’s exactly what happened in Sunday’s game as Brady stepped onto the field with only one thing on his mind; “You can’t not get the ball in the end zone.”

And Brady did just that, finding Aaron Hernandez in the endzone with 22 seconds left on the clock to give the Patriots a close win over the Dallas Cowboys and moving the team to 5-1 and back atop the AFC East with Buffalo losing.

This was Brady’s 32^nd comeback in games where the Patriots trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter, so it’s nothing new for Pats fans or the fans of teams playing them. The fact that he was able to do it against the fourth overall defense in the NFL, who had been stifling the Patriot offense all day, says something about Brady.

“When you’re playing against a quarterback like Tom Brady, he’s going to go down as one of the all-time greats,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “So you have to try to make it hard on him.”

Dallas did a good job all day of making things difficult for Brady as they had an extra week to prepare coming off a bye week. He was sacked three times, two by DeMarcus Ware who now has seven through five games, and picked off twice, but Brady turned it up on that last drive going 8 for 9 with 78 yards and the game winning score.

This wasn’t the best game for the Patriots as they had four turnovers, but they still found a way to pull out a victory. Brady finished 27 of 41 for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

Dallas fell to 2-3 behind an okay game from Tony Romo who was 27 of 41 for 317 yards 1 TD and 1 Int. The Cowboys broke the tie with 5:13 left and after a Patriots punt decided to run the ball three times, only gaining 5 yards and punted right back.

Welker, who entered the day as the leagues’ leading receiver, was held to 6 catches for 45 yards, but three of those catches came in that final drive none bigger than his last which put the ball at the 8 yard line. That’s when Brady found Hernandez in one on one coverage and zipped a pass to him for the winning score.

“This is probably, as a whole, one of our worst performances as an offense,” Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch said. “It’s times like this when we show what we’re made of — that last drive.”

All things aside the Patriots are right where they were expected to be, heading into their bye week at a 5-1 mark. Things don’t get easier for the Patriots after the bye though as they travel to Pittsburgh and then face the Giants at home.

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The resurgent Bills, who have been racking up huge offensive numbers all year, were tamed by Big Blue on Sunday afternoon as they lost 27-24, putting both teams at a 4-2 mark as they head into bye weeks.

The Giants, led by Ahmad Bradshaw’s season high 104 yard and career high 3 touchdown performance, were able to beat the Bills when Lawrence Tynes kicked the go-ahead 23 yard field goal with 1:32 left on the clock.

The Giants, who jumped out to a 7-0, found themselves trailing as the next two possessions saw the Bills hit two homerun plays for touchdowns to take the lead. The first came when Fred Jackson scored an 80 yard touchdown untouched, exploding through a huge hole up the middle. On their ensuing possession after a Giants punt Ryan Fitzpatrick hooked up with Naaman Roosevelt for 60 yards and the score.

After that, Bradshaw and the G-men took over with 17-3 run, putting them up by 7. In the fourth, Fitzpatrick found Steve Johnson from 9 yards out for the score to tie it up only to see Tynes seal the game off late with a field goal.

Fred Jackson, who is in the midst of his best season, had another monster game, rushing for 121 yards including the 80 yard score, as well as catching 5 passes for 47 yards.

After the Johnson touchdown, the Bills were in a position to win on the New York 27 after a long completion to David Nelson. Fitzpatrick went for the lead, trying to throw a go-pattern to Johnson down the sideline, but CB Corey Webster was all over it and intercepted it at the 5 for his second pick of the day.

Fitzpatrick finished the day 21 for 30 with 244 yards 2 TD’s, 2 Int and a 88.8 passer rating.

“This is one of the hardest parts of playing quarterback, when you don’t get the job done,” Fitzpatrick said. “The two interceptions I threw, you couldn’t ask for better coverage, you couldn’t ask for a better play, couldn’t ask for a better route. They were both basically the same thing, Stevie on a go route. I’d like to give credit to Corey Webster, he made plays on both of them. That said, I feel like Stevie beat him and I underthrew both of them.”

The Bills while in the game, didn’t play their best game as the two big plays early made up for a Giant dominated game. That being said, the Bills and their fans probably didn’t forsee themselves being 4-2 and a game behind the Patriots and in front of the Jets going into their bye week. The Bills do look like they are for real head into the bye week on a somewhat positive note with a game against the Redskins waiting for them in two weeks.

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After the Jets lack luster play in the last three weeks, especially by the offense, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ name has begun to come up more and more with the New York media and fan base. Many people are already calling for his departure after the Jets proved unable to do anything against one of the worst defenses in the league in New England.

Schottenheimer, who is the only holdover from the Mangini era in New York, has been on the hot seat for a few years now due to the offense’s inability at times to score points. Many fans remember how the play calling used to be under Mangini which was always short and safe, sometimes too safe.

They were notorious at times for calling plays in which receivers would run routes inside the first down line and never given the chance to gain enough yardage. Schottenheimer isn’t the type of play caller who calls plays regardless of the opponent. His game plans vary week to week, based on the opponent’s weaknesses.

However, this season he seems to be more worried about keeping all of the offense’s big name receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and before he was traded Derrick Mason, happy rather than doing his job and calling the plays that needed to be called. Against Oakland, he made a great call on LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdown catch matching him up against an obviously slower linebacker.

Then, Tomlinson never received the ball. Dustin Keller, who has all the ability in the world to be a top ten tight end in the league, has five catches all year. While many of the Jets struggles sit with the players and their poor performances, a lot also stems from poor and questionable play calling.

The Jets vowed to return to their ‘ground & pound’ roots against the Patriots and succeeded to some extent. However, there were a lot of play calls that left fans, the media, and even the announcers of the game scratching their heads. In the first three of the Jets eventual seven three and outs, the Jets ran the ball early and had 3^rd and 2, 3^rd and 1, and 3^rd and 2.

All of these were very manageable third downs, but instead of running the ball up the gut which they had success with earlier, they dropped Sanchez back all three times, resulting in two incomplete passes and one sack.

On another play later in the game, they had Sanchez back in the shotgun with a spread four wide receiver set, yet not one wide receivers route was past the 1^st down marker and the play resulted in the Jets being short of the first down. Plays like this are causing people to think that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

Schotty’s play calling, which was the subject of the report issued before the Patriots game, that the three big name receivers had gone to Rex Ryan to complain about the play calling, has one, maybe two weeks to turn this all around before the Jets’ bye week. Up next for the Jets is the winless Dolphins on Monday Night Football, who like the Patriots have the 31^st ranked passing defense.

After that it’s the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, but if the Jets lose to the Dolphins at home on national TV, Schotty might not even make it to the bye week. He is definitely on the hot seat and it’s up to him and the offensive players to get the job done or his job with the Jets could be done before seasons end.

The article Schott in the Foot? Brian Schottenheimer is on the Hot Seat appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Still ruling the top of the pack is The Packers which means there is little to get exited over there. However, the lower we go, the muddier it gets. Here are the Toonari Post Power Rankings of NFL week 6:

The article NFL Week 6 Power Rankings appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

With preseason finally over, and Monday nights opener against the Dolphins waiting on the other side of the weekend, the New England Patriots seem once again poised to make another promising run at the Lombardi Trophy.

Already loaded with offensive firepower, the Pats spent the off-season beefing up their d-line with the additions of Albert Heyensworth, and former jets defensive end Shaun Ellis; moving from a predominantly 3-4 based defense to a 4-3 in hopes of finally adding the all-elusive pass rush to their arsenal.

But with last year’s quick playoff exit to the Jets still fresh in fans minds, and the sting from a playoff romping at the hands of Baltimore in 2009 still palpable, there are certainly questions about the 2011 New England Patriots that go beyond personnel acquisitions and schematics.

Consider this; the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since beating the Chargers in the 2006 AFC Championship game. Furthermore, their last three playoff exits have not been easy defeats to swallow; in three losses to the Giants, Ravens, and Jets, Belichicks teams looked weak, confused, and perhaps most concerning of all, under prepared.

What’s troublesome about this is that while the Super Bowl teams of 2001, 2003, and 2004 were all extremely skilled, they specifically prided themselves on always being defensively strong, mentally sound, and extremely well prepared. Perhaps these first three Super Bowl victories spoiled us all, letting us believe that no pressure, no situation, no one game was too much for the unflappable Tom Brady and his stoic puppeteer Bill Belichick.

But three Lombardi trophies and seven years later, has the allure been lost, the mojo run out? At whatpoint does the “Patriot Way” become not what it was from 2001-2004, but what it has become from 2007-2011? One also has to wonder what this season means to the legacies of Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck.

A Super Bowl win would undoubtedly secure Brady’s spot in the greatest of all time debate, making him only the third quarterback ever, along with Bradshaw and Montana, to win four Lombardi’s. For Belichick, another Super Bowl victory would give him six rings over all, with four as a head coach, tying him with Chuck Noll for the most by any head coach. But another playoff loss?

Without a doubt, both Belichick and Brady will go down as some of the best ever at their respective positions; no one can argue that. But a failure to win one more big game together could tarnish the twilight years of Brady’s career, leaving his lasting image as someone who won early, but faltered late.

Most importantly, if neither Brady nor Belichick win another ring, each will have a clear superior: Brady behind Montana and Bradshaw, and Belichick behind Noll. This season is not just any season for the Patriots; resting in the balance are the legacies of coach and quarterback, a prospect which makes Monday nights debut against Miami that much more exciting, as if it needed to be.

The article The 2011 NFL Season: Legacies Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in Spotlight appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.