Back when they shared a stadium with the Marlins, with a different starting quarterback under a different coach, the Dolphins opened this season by getting into a shootout with New England.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady brought a bigger gun than Chad Henne, more bullets in Wes Welker and a pair of three-syllable surnamed tight ends and strafed the Dolphins to a near-NFL record degree. The damage got cornerback Benny Sapp cut and started the boulder rolling down the hill on both the season and Dolphins coach Tony Sparano’s employment.

The offense never would be better in the first seven games. And it was 14 points short of being good enough.

Now, the Dolphins come at the Patriots with quarterback Matt Moore and more elements not in play the first time around — running back Reggie Bush making opponents look like Oregon State, wide receiver Brandon Marshall making more than pedestrian plays and a better red zone offense. That last part is in jeopardy as key red zone cog tight end Anthony Fasano sustained a mild concussion last Sunday in Buffalo and will miss Saturday’s game. But Jake Long, who sat out against the Bills with a back injury, is expected to start against the Patriots barring a setback overnight.

“I would say we have a lot more chemistry [than the first game],” Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess said. “Obviously that first game, you don’t know what to expect. Now, we’ve got a feel for what type of team we are. We know what type of team they are. From that standpoint, it’s going to be a good matchup. We’ve got to come out swinging.”

Keeping up

So, if New England puts up 30 points, which the Patriots have done each week excepting a midseason three-game stretch, the Dolphins think they can keep pace.

The Dolphins rolled up 488 yards of offense, picked up 25 first downs and ran 73 plays, all still highs for the season, in the September 38-24 loss to New England. Part of the reason they had so many plays, however, is the Patriots gobbled land like a deep-pocketed developer, averaging 8.8 yards per play.

“We understand we need to outscore them to win the game, which is kind of a ‘duh’ answer,” Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline said. “But you are kind of going against their offense.

“Overall, as an offense, we take care of playing their defense and leave it at that,” Hartline continued. “We have faith in our defense if we score points, our defense will do a good job of stopping them, at least limiting them.”

Hartline said he thought the running game made the most strides this season since the first game. Everybody knows the run-the-ball, shrink-the-number-of-possessions, keep-Brady-on-the-sideline theory. With Bush just 27 yards from his first 1,000-yard season and backed up ably by rookie Daniel Thomas’ more muscular style, the Dolphins can do that.

Back in September, neither runner was a factor. Bush, in his first game with the Dolphins, ran for 38 yards on 11 carries. Thomas didn’t play with an injured hamstring.

“I think the first game was obviously we dug a pretty deep hole for ourselves. Obviously, naturally we had to get some quick scores. Our game plan is going to be a little different. In that respect I think we’re not going to try to dig a deep hole again,” Bush laughed. “I think we’re just going to go out there and play Dolphin football. Obviously, we’re going to run the ball. That’s what we do. That’s what we love to do and that’s what we pride ourselves in. I don’t think that’s any secret.”

Points important

Then again, look at the Dolphins averages per run — 6.7 last week against Buffalo, 4.2 in a loss to Philadelphia, 4.8 against Oakland — and it’s not as if they’re not capable of the home run play via the ground. And, they’ll gladly forsake possession for points.

“They’re going to get some plays, but in a toe-to-toe game, our defense will take care of their offense,” Hartline said. “So, it’s scoring the points to back up our defense.”

Patriots, Dolphins still have plenty to play for

By HOWARD ULMAN

AP Sports Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) The New England Patriots are in the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 years. The Miami Dolphins missed them for the ninth time in 10.

Both, though, have a lot at stake on Saturday with the Patriots going for a first-round bye and many Dolphins playing for jobs next season.

And both have the same approach to moving toward those goals. Forget about them.

“Right now, all we’re worried about is Miami,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters. “All the rest of it is just something for you guys to write about.”

Todd Bowles, a head coach for just one NFL game compared with Belichick’s 291, isn’t focused on what a victory would mean for his future in that position.

“I don’t have any expectations, really,” he said. “I’m just trying to get the guys to play hard and play better and play fast and try to come out with wins. I don’t control those decisions.”

The Patriots (11-3) clinched their third straight AFC East title last Sunday with a 41-23 win at the Denver Broncos. There are several ways for them to secure a bye this week, the easiest being a victory combined with a loss or tie by the Houston Texans. They even can clinch the top seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs if they win and Houston, Pittsburgh and Baltimore all lose or tie.

“I don’t think we think about any of those things other than Miami,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “We prepare hard, focus on what we can focus on, control what we can control, go out there and play with great effort, good execution and we’ll be in good position.”

The Dolphins (5-9) will focus on stopping Brady. They couldn’t do it in their season-opening 38-24 loss in Miami in which Brady threw for a franchise record 517 yards. Bowles, who led the Dolphins to a 30-23 win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday after replacing the fired Tony Sparano, was the secondary coach then.

“It was the toughest game for me as a coach,” Bowles said. “You don’t see those kind of numbers every day. Nothing worked. .man (to man), zone, pressure, prevent. He completed everything. You write it off as a bad loss.”

But he remained confident and the secondary has improved considerably since then.

“I just think it was a bad game,” he said. “You just write it off and move on next week.”

The Patriots also have a dangerous offensive threat to handle. Reggie Bush rushed for a career-high 203 yards against Buffalo last Sunday, the same day New England allowed 167 yards rushing in the first quarter alone.

In their last two games, the Patriots have been burned for a total of 422 yards on the ground.

“He’s a special guy,” New England linebacker Rob Ninkovich said of Bush. “A guy like Reggie can do a lot of different things. … So you’ve just got to make sure you don’t let him do those things.”

Bush already has shown he can thrive as an every-down back, something he didn’t do in his other five NFL seasons, all with the New Orleans Saints.

So what motivates him with his team out of the playoff race?

“It’s the New England Patriots,” he said. “Anytime you’re playing a divisional opponent it’s always big and we want to finish the season strong. At the same time, we know that we’re still being evaluated. No matter what the record says, we’re all still being evaluated on a daily basis, on a weekly basis.”

Bush’s job for next season is secure.

Matt Moore is still trying to enhance his resume as the starting quarterback after Chad Henne suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the fourth game.

The Dolphins rebounded after losing their first seven games with a 5-2 record, but Moore has completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes in each of the last four games.

Still, Bush said, “he’s been the backbone of this team. I honestly believe that. Without him, we wouldn’t (have) been able to put together the stream of wins that we have. …I think you see when we give him time to throw the ball he can be dangerous, he can be effective.”

He very well could be against the Patriots. Starting with the third week of the season, their defense has been ranked worst in the league in both total yards and yards passing allowed. And now they must go on without defensive end Andre Carter, the team leader with 10 sacks who suffered a season-ending injury to his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

“He works incredibly hard and he’s been having a great season,” cornerback Devin McCourty said. “To lose a guy like that, we just have to come together as a group.”

If they succeed, they could lock up a playoff bye with one regular-season game left. But if the Dolphins play spoilers?

“We’re not trying to spoil anything,” Bowles said. “We’re just trying to get better as a team and try to close out the season on a winning note. So we’re just going to worry about us now.”

Updated December 22, 2011

FOXBORO — The wins keep coming for the New England Patriots. Yet each one seems to spark doubts about whether they’re as good as their 11-3 record suggests.

There is concern, from former Patriots Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison to some of their current players to nervous fans who have watched opponents shred their defense.

How can a team that’s on track to allow the second-most yards in NFL history have a six-game winning streak and the best record in the AFC? Is it superior coaching, a star quarterback, or just a remarkable run of good fortune?

“Maybe one or two games we can say, ‘Man, that was a pretty good game,’ ” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “The rest of them you can just pinpoint a lot of mistakes. But we were lucky enough to come out with a victory.”

Last Sunday, the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 41-23 but allowed 252 yards rushing, 167 in the first quarter alone. One week earlier, they beat the Washington Redskins, 34-27, a victory secured only by Jerod Mayo’s interception at the Patriots 5-yard line with 20 seconds left.

And the week before, they watched a 31-3 lead shrink in the last 11 minutes before they held on to beat the then-winless Indianapolis Colts 31-24.

The Patriots figure to win their remaining regular-season games against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, both currently 5-9. If they do, they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

But then what? The Patriots lost their opening

playoff game in each of the last two years, games in which their best antidote to poor defense, Tom Brady, struggled.

“This Patriot team is a proven regular-season team, but they have a lot to prove in the playoffs, where they have failed miserably the last two years,” Bruschi, a linebacker on the Patriots’ three Super Bowl championship teams, said Monday during an online chat on ESPNBoston.com. “All teams that make the playoffs should be feared by the Patriots, because what I fear the most for the Patriots is them playing the way they’ve played the last two years in the postseason. So it’s not about who they play, it’s about them showing up.”

Right now, it’s about ignoring the critics and just working to get better.

“I don’t really care what everyone else says,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “I’m just trying to focus on each week and playing good football. We have a good record, yes, but we have to continue to play hard until the season (ends) and when the playoffs start we need to continue to improve. So I really don’t listen to anything out there, just shut it all out.”

To be fair, the starting defense has been battered by injuries. Safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes missed the last six games. Cornerback Devin McCourty sat out two. Safety James Ihedigbo has missed parts of several games. And now Andre Carter, New England’s best pass rusher with a team-high 10 sacks, is out for the season after hurting his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

While they’ve allowed the most yards in the NFL, only 13 teams have given up fewer points. They’ve let teams score from inside the 20-yard line just 80 percent of the time, seventh in the league. They lead the AFC with a plus-12 turnover differential. And of their three losses, one came on a last-play field goal, another on a touchdown with 15 seconds left and a third by eight points.

“Our team has played well enough to win 11 games, so that’s good,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We still feel like our best football is in front of us and we keep working hard to try to perform at that level.”

But so far the Patriots have allowed 76 plays of at least 20 yards, more than five per game and 20 more than the single-season franchise high. Overall, they’ve given up an average of 414.4 yards. At that rate, they’d finish with 6,630 total yards, second in NFL history to the Baltimore Colts, who gave up 6,793 yards in 1981 when they went 2-14.

Because of injury or inconsistency, the Patriots have used 16 players in the secondary, including wide receivers Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman. On Wednesday they added a new one, signing seven-year veteran safety Vincent Fuller, who already had been cut this season by Tennessee and Detroit.

“They’ve had a lot of injuries, but (Belichick’s) moved guys around and they’re filling in and getting the job done,” said Redskins receiver Jabar Gaffney, a member of the Patriots team that went 18-0 in the 2007 season before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. “It may not look as pretty, but they still find a way to win.”

It looked downright ugly to Harrison, a hard-hitting safety on the Patriots’ last two championship teams in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“They should be concerned because that secondary is probably the worst secondary I’ve seen in the last decade,” Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America,” said after the Redskins completed passes of 51 and 49 yards against it two weeks ago. “It’s been proven the last two years in the playoffs. If Brady’s off just a little bit, they’re vulnerable to lose.”

But the Patriots try to block out the doubters. No one has to tell them what their weaknesses are.

“You listen to other people if you want to, but (we) know what’s going on inside,” said running back Kevin Faulk, a Patriot since 1999. “There’s always room for improvement and if you are to reach what you want to reach, you always want to improve your team, no matter what it is, in every aspect of it.”

——

AP Sports Writer Joseph White in Washington, D.C., and freelancer Matthew Carroll in Foxborough contributed to this story.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—The New England Patriots are in the playoffs for
the ninth time in 11 years. The Miami Dolphins missed them for the ninth time in
10.

Both, though, have a lot at stake on Saturday with the Patriots going for a
first-round bye and many Dolphins playing for jobs next season.

And both have the same approach to moving toward those goals. Forget about
them.

“Right now, all we’re worried about is Miami,” Patriots coach Bill
Belichick told reporters. “All the rest of it is just something for you guys to
write about.”

Todd Bowles, a head coach for just one NFL game compared with Belichick’s
291, isn’t focused on what a victory would mean for his future in that position.

“I don’t have any expectations, really,” he said. “I’m just trying to get
the guys to play hard and play better and play fast and try to come out with
wins. I don’t control those decisions.”

The Patriots (11-3) clinched their third straight AFC East title last Sunday
with a 41-23 win at the Denver Broncos. There are several ways for them to
secure a bye this week, the easiest being a victory combined with a loss or tie
by the Houston Texans. They even can clinch the top seed in the AFC and
home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs if they win and Houston,
Pittsburgh and Baltimore all lose or tie.

“I don’t think we think about any of those things other than Miami,”
quarterback Tom Brady said. “We prepare hard, focus on what we can focus on,
control what we can control, go out there and play with great effort, good
execution and we’ll be in good position.”

The Dolphins (5-9) will focus on stopping Brady. They couldn’t do it in
their season-opening 38-24 loss in Miami in which Brady threw for a franchise
record 517 yards. Bowles, who led the Dolphins to a 30-23 win over the Buffalo
Bills last Sunday after replacing the fired Tony Sparano, was the secondary
coach then.

“It was the toughest game for me as a coach,” Bowles said. “You don’t see
those kind of numbers every day. Nothing worked. .man (to man), zone, pressure,
prevent. He completed everything. You write it off as a bad loss.”

But he remained confident and the secondary has improved considerably since
then.

“I just think it was a bad game,” he said. “You just write it off and
move on next week.”

The Patriots also have a dangerous offensive threat to handle. Reggie Bush
rushed for a career-high 203 yards against Buffalo last Sunday, the same day New
England allowed 167 yards rushing in the first quarter alone.

In their last two games, the Patriots have been burned for a total of 422
yards on the ground.

“He’s a special guy,” New England linebacker Rob Ninkovich said of Bush.
“A guy like Reggie can do a lot of different things. … So you’ve just got to
make sure you don’t let him do those things.”

Bush already has shown he can thrive as an every-down back, something he
didn’t do in his other five NFL seasons, all with the New Orleans Saints.

So what motivates him with his team out of the playoff race?

“It’s the New England Patriots,” he said. “Anytime you’re playing a
divisional opponent it’s always big and we want to finish the season strong. At
the same time, we know that we’re still being evaluated. No matter what the
record says, we’re all still being evaluated on a daily basis, on a weekly
basis.”

Bush’s job for next season is secure.

Matt Moore is still trying to enhance his resume as the starting quarterback
after Chad Henne suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the fourth game.

The Dolphins rebounded after losing their first seven games with a 5-2
record, but Moore has completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes in each of
the last four games.

Still, Bush said, “he’s been the backbone of this team. I honestly believe
that. Without him, we wouldn’t (have) been able to put together the stream of
wins that we have. …I think you see when we give him time to throw the ball he
can be dangerous, he can be effective.”

He very well could be against the Patriots. Starting with the third week of
the season, their defense has been ranked worst in the league in both total
yards and yards passing allowed. And now they must go on without defensive end
Andre Carter, the team leader with 10 sacks who suffered a season-ending injury
to his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

“He works incredibly hard and he’s been having a great season,” cornerback
Devin McCourty said. “To lose a guy like that, we just have to come together as
a group.”

If they succeed, they could lock up a playoff bye with one regular-season
game left. But if the Dolphins play spoilers?

“We’re not trying to spoil anything,” Bowles said. “We’re just trying to
get better as a team and try to close out the season on a winning note. So we’re
just going to worry about us now.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The wins keep coming for the New England Patriots. Yet each one seems to spark doubts about whether they’re as good as their 11-3 record suggests.

There is concern, from former Patriots Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison to some of their current players to nervous fans who have watched opponents shred their defense.

How can a team that’s on track to allow the second-most yards in NFL history have a six-game winning streak and the best record in the AFC? Is it superior coaching, a star quarterback, or just a remarkable run of good fortune?

“Maybe one or two games we can say, `Man, that was a pretty good game,’ ” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “The rest of them you can just pinpoint a lot of mistakes. But we were lucky enough to come out with a victory.”

Last Sunday, the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 41-23 but allowed 252 yards rushing, 167 in the first quarter alone. One week earlier, they beat the Washington Redskins, 34-27, a victory secured only by Jerod Mayo’s interception at the Patriots 5-yard line with 20 seconds left.

And the week before that, they watched a 31-3 lead shrink in the last 11 minutes before they held on to beat the then-winless Indianapolis Colts 31-24.

The Patriots figure to win their remaining regular-season games against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, both currently 5-9. If they do, they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

But then what? The Patriots lost their opening playoff game in each of the last two years, games in which their best antidote to poor defense, Tom Brady, struggled.

“This Patriot team is a proven regular-season team, but they have a lot to prove in the playoffs, where they have failed miserably the last two years,” Bruschi, a linebacker on the Patriots’ three Super Bowl championship teams, said Monday during an online chat on ESPNBoston.com. “All teams that make the playoffs should be feared by the Patriots, because what I fear the most for the Patriots is them playing the way they’ve played the last two years in the postseason. So it’s not about who they play, it’s about them showing up.”

Right now, it’s about ignoring the critics and just working to get better.

“I don’t really care what everyone else says,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “I’m just trying to focus on each week and playing good football. We have a good record, yes, but we have to continue to play hard until the season (ends) and when the playoffs start we need to continue to improve. So I really don’t listen to anything out there, just shut it all out.”

To be fair, the starting defense has been battered by injuries. Safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes missed the last six games. Cornerback Devin McCourty sat out two. Safety James Ihedigbo has missed parts of several games. And now Andre Carter, New England’s best pass rusher with a team-high 10 sacks, is out for the season after hurting his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

While they’ve allowed the most yards in the NFL, only 13 teams have given up fewer points. They’ve let teams score from inside the 20-yard line just 80 percent of the time, seventh in the league. They lead the AFC with a plus-12 turnover differential. And of their three losses, one came on a last-play field goal, another on a touchdown with 15 seconds left and a third by eight points.

“Our team has played well enough to win 11 games, so that’s good,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We still feel like our best football is in front of us and we keep working hard to try to perform at that level.”

But so far the Patriots have allowed 76 plays of at least 20 yards, more than five per game and 20 more than the single-season franchise high. Overall, they’ve given up an average of 414.4 yards. At that rate, they’d finish with 6,630 total yards, second in NFL history to the Baltimore Colts, who gave up 6,793 yards in 1981 when they went 2-14.

Because of injury or inconsistency, the Patriots have used 16 players in the secondary, including wide receivers Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman. On Wednesday they added a new one, signing seven-year veteran safety Vincent Fuller, who already had been cut this season by Tennessee and Detroit.

“They’ve had a lot of injuries, but (Belichick’s) moved guys around and they’re filling in and getting the job done,” said Redskins receiver Jabar Gaffney, a member of the Patriots team that went 18-0 in the 2007 season before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. “It may not look as pretty, but they still find a way to win.”

It looked downright ugly to Harrison, a hard-hitting safety on the Patriots’ last two championship teams in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“They should be concerned because that secondary is probably the worst secondary I’ve seen in the last decade,” Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America,” said after the Redskins completed passes of 51 and 49 yards against it two weeks ago. “It’s been proven the last two years in the playoffs. If Brady’s off just a little bit, they’re vulnerable to lose.”

But the Patriots try to block out the doubters. No one has to tell them what their weaknesses are.

“You listen to other people if you want to, but (we) know what’s going on inside,” said running back Kevin Faulk, a Patriot since 1999. “There’s always room for improvement and if you are to reach what you want to reach, you always want to improve your team, no matter what it is, in every aspect of it.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

After a weekend in which every relevant result broke the New England
Patriots’ way, their path to the No. 1 seed in the AFC couldn’t be clearer.

It remains murky, however, whether their struggling defense can improve
enough to make a playoff run – especially without their biggest pass-rushing
presence.

The Patriots must move on without standout defensive end Andre Carter as
they try to move closer to securing home-field advantage throughout the
postseason Saturday by defeating the Miami Dolphins.

Home victories the next two weeks over 5-9 foes Miami and Buffalo would
ensure New England (11-3) won’t play anywhere but Foxborough until either the
Super Bowl or next season.

Of course, the Patriots also had the conference’s top seed last postseason,
only to be upset by the rival New York Jets in the divisional round – the second
straight year they’ve dropped their playoff opener at home.

Despite its stellar record, Bill Belichick’s team hardly seems like a safe
bet to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since its bid for a perfect
season was spoiled there four years ago.

The Tom Brady-led offense is typically potent, having averaged 35.8 points
during the club’s six-game winning streak. New England’s defense, though, has
allowed more yards than any other team’s, and the season-ending quadriceps
injury Carter suffered last week in Denver certainly won’t help.

“That’s tough. Andre puts so much in with his leadership alone,” defensive
tackle Vince Wilfork said. “He hasn’t really won a lot in his career, but now
he’s winning, he’s happy here, he’s having fun, he’s playing well. To see him go
down, it’s a blow.”

Playing primarily at end in a newly installed 4-3 scheme, Carter provided
the Patriots with a team-high 10 sacks. Without him, it’s possible the club
could return to more of the 3-4 arrangement it has used in past years.

“We used them both at different times for different reasons,” Belichick
said. “In the end, it comes back to the players – beating blocks, making
tackles, hitting the quarterback, covering the receivers.”

New England didn’t do much of any of that while allowing 167 yards on the
ground in the first quarter Sunday, falling behind 16-7 early in the second. But
the offense responded with 27 straight points and the defense tightened to cool
down Tim Tebow and the Broncos in a 41-23 drubbing.

Not only did the win clinch the club’s ninth AFC East title in 11 years, but
the three other teams that had been tied at 10-3 atop the conference -
Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston – lost.

“I don’t think we’ve got enough time to smile,” cornerback Devin McCourty
said. “We see that happen, but I think it really (emphasizes) how important it
is for us to keep playing well and to be ready to go on Saturday.”

Saturday’s game seems straightforward enough for the Patriots, who’ve
outscored the Dolphins 117-45 in winning all three meetings over the last two
seasons.

Miami has looked like a vastly improved team lately, however, winning five
of seven since an 0-7 start. The revival wasn’t good enough to save Tony
Sparano’s job, but the Dolphins won their first game under interim coach Todd
Bowles, overcoming wintry weather for a 30-23 victory at Buffalo last week.

While Matt Moore has thrown 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the
last seven games, Reggie Bush’s renaissance has powered Miami lately, with the
former USC star finally fulfilling the lofty expectations placed on him when he
was drafted No. 2 overall by New Orleans in 2006.

With one 100-yard rushing game in five seasons with the Saints, Bush has
four for the Dolphins this season – including each of the last three contests.
He posted career highs of 203 yards and 25 carries against the Bills, ripping
off a 76-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to all but seal the game.

“I understand the questions,” Bush said. “I was hurt a few years and I
wasn’t getting a lot of touches and yards. Rightfully so, people should be
questioning whether I can do it or not. But I know given the opportunity, I can
show that I can be a good back.”

The Patriots limited Bush to 38 yards on 11 carries in the season opener
while Brady stole the show, passing for a team-record 517 yards and four
touchdowns in a 38-24 victory Sept. 12.

“Embarrassing,” Miami safety Yeremiah Bell said. “That can’t happen.”

Wes Welker had eight catches for 160 yards in that game, including a 99-yard
touchdown. The NFL leader with 104 receptions for a career-high 1,380 yards,
Welker has averaged 105.4 receiving yards in eight meetings with the Dolphins,
who traded him to New England in 2007.

The Patriots’ passing attack proved last week that opponents must pick their
poison. With Welker and star tight end Rob Gronkowski combining for just eight
catches and 94 yards, tight end Aaron Hernandez stepped up with nine catches for
129 yards and a touchdown.

“You never know who is going to be heavily involved,” Gronkowski said.

The New England Patriots won their sixth straight game and continue to gradually climb up ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings.

Here is how Week 15 impacted the division:

New England Patriots (11-3)

Results: W, 41-23 against Denver

Power Ranking: No. 4 (up one spot)

Walker’s vote: No. 3 (up two spots)

Analysis: I think the Patriots got shafted a little this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens lost ahead of New England, but the Patriots only moved up one spot. The San Francisco 49ers jumped the Patriots after a big win over the Steelers on “Monday Night Football.” Either way, the Patriots just need to win their final two home games against Miami and Buffalo to secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC. New England will be hard to beat at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs if quarterback Tom Brady continues to play at an MVP level.

New York Jets (8-6)

Results: L, 45-19 against Philadelphia

Power Ranking: No. 12 (down two spots)

Walker’s vote: No. 14 (down four spots)

Analysis: The Jets continued their trend of not showing up on the road. They fell to 2-5 away from MetLife Stadium with an embarrassing 45-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Jets played their worst game all season and dropped two spots in ESPN.com’s Power Rankings. I voted New York No. 14 and NFC West blogger Mike Sando vote the Jets the lowest at No. 15.

Miami Dolphins (5-9)

Results: W, 30-23 against Buffalo

Power Ranking: No. 23 (same)

Walker’s vote: No. 22 (same)

Analysis: The Dolphins are finally ahead of the Bills in the Power Rankings. I’ve been voting Miami ahead of Buffalo for weeks after watching both teams trend in opposite directions. Our panel finally was convinced after Miami swept Buffalo in the season series. The Dolphins deserve a lot of credit for playing hard in the second half of the season, despite inner turmoil and the eventual firing of former head coach Tony Sparano. Miami has two tough games against the Patriots and Jets to finish the season.

Buffalo Bills (5-9)

Results: L, 30-23 against Miami

Power Ranking: No. 26 (down four spots)

Walker’s vote: No. 26 (down three spots)

Analysis: The Bills continue to drop after their seventh consecutive loss. The defense hasn’t stopped anyone in weeks and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been too streaky and inconsistent to lift his team. Buffalo needs to take a hard look at its roster in the offseason. The defense needs a major overhaul, but the offense also needs several pieces. Until then, Buffalo needs to try to win at least one of these next two games to help with confidence.

Read More: Tom Brady (QB – NEP), Rob Gronkowski (TE – NEP), Tim Tebow (QB – DEN), New England Patriots, Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are going to face their first real challenge of the season since Tim Tebow took over as starting quarterback when they welcome the New England Patriots to Mile High. The only elite quarterback the Broncos have faced this season before Tom Brady was the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 408 yards and four touchdown passes and rushed for two more scores.

And the Broncos defense has allowed 45, 24 and 32 points during this winning streak. It is quite possible that Brady and the Patriots could beat up the Broncos defense. The early projections from numberFire have both Brady and his star tight end Rob Gronkowski are the top of their respective positions. Brady is the No. 2 quarterback and overall player (behind Rodgers) this week and projected to reach 17.69 points. Gronkowski ranks as the No. 23 best fantasy option and No. 1 at the tight end position with his 13.40 points. Will Gronkowski be able to make it seven straight games with a touchdown pass?

For more on this game visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Patriots blog Pats Pulpit. For extra help during the fantasy football playoffs, head over to SB Nation Fantasy or ask on Twitter, @sbnationfantasy.

The sideline spat between Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien seems to have been patched up. The New England Patriots defense will take longer to fix.

They have allowed more than 430 yards to each of their past three opponents, all with losing records. Starting with the third week of the season, they have been ranked as the worst team in yards passing and overall yards allowed. And their secondary has been so weak and banged up that wide receivers Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman have played there a lot.

Somehow, the Patriots have won their past five games and are tied for the AFC’s best record at 10-3. But can they continue winning with that shaky defense once the competition stiffens in the playoffs?

“It’s always a concern when one running back gets over 100 yards,” linebacker Dane Fletcher said Monday after the Patriots’ victory Sunday at Washington. “It’s getting [to be] crunch time here, so we’ve got to work on it.”

The Patriots allowed Washington 463 yards, the eighth time in 13 games they have given up at least 427. Roy Helu rushed for 126 and quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 252 and two touchdowns. Grossman led a final march from the Redskins 20 with 6:30 left to the Patriots 5 with 1:15 to go. New England finally stopped them when wide receiver Santana Moss tipped a pass into the hands of linebacker Jerod Mayo for an interception with 20 seconds remaining.

That drive wouldn’t have meant much if Brady hadn’t thrown an interception in the end zone on the previous series when a field goal would have given the Patriots a 10-point lead.

When he went to the sideline, Brady got into a shouting match with O’Brien. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer stepped between them. When the game ended, Brady and O’Brien embraced.

Jets

Playmaking safety Jim Leonhard will be a spectator for New York’s playoff push. He will miss the rest of the season after being placed on injured reserve with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee.

Packers

Coach Mike McCarthy said wide receiver Greg Jennings will miss two to three weeks with a knee sprain but is expected back for the playoffs.

Texans

Guard Mike Brisiel had surgery to repair a broken right leg, and coach Gary Kubiak is hoping he will be back in three to four weeks. Houston also waived receiver Derrick Mason

Browns

Coach Pat Shurmur maintains his team’s medical staff followed NFL guidelines when quarterback Colt McCoy was cleared to go back into a game Thursday against the Steelers despite a concussion. McCoy did not show signs of a concussion until after the game,

Bills

Defensive lineman Torell Troup will have back surgery to repair what he called “a minor fracture” in his spine. Troup went on injured reserve two weeks ago and said he should be fully recovered in three months.

Elsewhere

Former NFL defensive back and reliable return man Leonard Lyles, who helped break football’s color barrier as one of the early black players, died of an unknown cause Nov. 20 at Louisville Jewish Hospital in Kentucky. He was 74.

First published on December 13, 2011 at 12:00 am

Just two words say it all for the New England Patriots—Rob Gronkowski.

The Patriots tight end had a monster game on Sunday, December 11 as New England defeated the Washington Redskins by the score of 34-27. New England improves to 10-3 on the season after having won five straight while Washington slips to 4-9 on the year.

Gronkowski was the hands-down hero of the game recording six receptions for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With three games remaining in the season he has already set the NFL single-season record for touchdowns by a tight end with 15 on the season thus far.

Quarterback Tom Brady had another typical outstanding performance completing 22 of 37 pass attempts for 37 yards and three touchdowns. His one interception was his first since November 6, which led to a heated exchange between he and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

With any other quarterback on any other team, an interception would surely be a disappointment but this was Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The two do not make mistakes on offense and when they do happen, they are not taken lightly.

Frankly, it was a game much closer than it should have been.

Washington dominated time of possession controlling the football for 36 minutes compared to New England’s 24 minutes. The Patriots also lost the battle in total yards with Washington netting 463 to New England’s 431.

The difference was turnovers whereas New England’s only mistake was Brady’s interception that could have led to a tie game sending the two teams into overtime. For the Patriots, they took advantage of a Rex Grossman fumble in the first quarter, recovered by Vince Wilfork for a touchdown.

Regardless, all that matters in the end is the final score, which went in favor of the Patriots. New England is now two games ahead of the New York Jets in the AFC East.

New England will have a battle on their hands next week on Sunday, December 18 when they travel to take on the red-hot Denver Broncos led by Tim Tebow. Can Brady and company pull of the victory or will Tebow summon another miracle for the Broncos?

More New England Patriots Commentary from this Contributor:

Patriots end slump, defeat Jets: A fan’s reaction

Patriots lose second straight in loss to NY Giants: A fan’s reaction

New England Patriots fall short in loss to Pittsburgh: A fan’s reaction

Sources:

All stats provided by NFL.com

Paul Rados is an avid New England Patriots fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Rob Gronkowski got his record, and the New England Patriots ‘ bend-but-don’t-break defense almost broke.

Gronkowski set the NFL single-season mark for touchdown catches by a tight end, and Jerod Mayo ‘s interception of a tipped pass with 22 seconds to play Sunday preserved the Patriots’ fifth straight win, 34-27 over the Washington Redskins .

Tom Brady completed 22 of 37 passes for 357 yards with three touchdowns – two to Gronkowski – and survived an interception in the end zone as the Patriots (10-3) won at Washington for the first time in franchise history. The Redskins were the only current NFL franchise New England had never beaten on the road.

Brady (294) also moved ahead of Warren Moon into sole possession of sixth place for most touchdown passes in NFL history and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his career. Gronkowski caught six passes for 160 yards.

Rex Grossman was 19 of 32 for 252 yards, and Roy Helu (126 yards) became the first Washington rookie to run for 100 yards in three straight games. But it wasn’t enough for the Redskins (4-9), who have lost eight of nine.

With the Patriots leading by seven in the fourth quarter, Brady had a chance to extend the lead, but he was picked off in the end zone by Josh Wilson with 6:30 to play. Afterward, Brady was involved in a heated exchange on the sideline with an assistant coach.

The Redskins took advantage of the miscue, driving from their own 20 to the New England. But Santana Moss ‘ catch at the goal line was negated by a pass interference call on the receiver, and then Moss tipped a pass into the hands of Mayo to save the day for a New England defense that ranks last in the league in yards allowed.

There was lots of scoring, and nearly every drive had a highlight.

Already playing without tight end Fred Davis and left tackle Trent Williams – both suspended for the rest of the season last week for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy – the Redskins lost another offensive starter during pregame warm-ups when right tackle Jammal Brown injured his right groin.

So, with Washington starting its sixth different starting offensive line in nine weeks, it was almost predictable that Grossman would hold the ball too long in the end zone while undrafted rookie left tackle Willie Smith was getting beat by ex-Redskins defensive end Andre Carter . Carter jarred the ball loose, getting his 10th sack of the season, and Vince Wilfork recovered for a touchdown to put the Patriots ahead before the game was three minutes old.

After that, it was mostly offense, and Gronkowski had the best highlights in a series that lasted all of two plays: one remarkable, one record-setting.

On the first, he made a diving catch, got up, dragged DeJon Gomes and Reed Doughty a few yards and escaped while tiptoeing along the sidelines as cornerback DeAngelo Hall stood and watched. Gronkowski tiptoed again when hit by Wilson and stumbled ahead before falling to complete the 49-yard gain.

On the next play, Gronkowski was open to catch Brady’s 11-yard pass, his 14th touchdown reception of the season, passing Antonio Gates (2004) and Vernon Davis (2009). Gronkowski unleashed an almighty spike and retrieved the ball for safekeeping, just as he did last week when he thought he had set the record, only to realize that the play had been scored as a lateral instead of a pass.

Washington’s Jabar Gaffney was a bit overenthusiastic while celebrating the game’s next touchdown, a 9-yard catch. He leaped into the first row of stands – but no one caught him and he sank behind the barrier.

The next score came on the first offensive play of the year for Redskins kick returner Brandon Banks , who took a pitch on a double reverse and flung his first career pass – 49-yards to Moss give Washington a 17-14 lead.

A couple of curious personal foul calls for hits to the quarterback, one on Carter and one on Washington’s London Fletcher , highlighted a pair of field goal drives that left the score tied at 20 at the half. The whistle on Fletcher appeared particularly egregious; the refereed announced that Fletcher hit a late-sliding Brady with a forearm to the head, but Fletcher’s arm clearly hit the quarterback in the chest.

The second half continued at the same whiplash speed, with three third-quarter drives going for touchdowns. Gronkowski broke rookie Ryan Kerrigan ‘s attempt at a tackle and padded his record with a 37-yard scoring reception, and David Anderson ‘s first TD catch since 2008 tied the game at 27 on the next drive. Then it was Brady to Wes Welker for 24 yards to restore New England’s lead.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Gerard Warren was not listed on the team’s injury report, but he will not suit up for Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins.

Warren was a healthy scratch Sunday, the team announced, and it is not clear why he was declared inactive.

Warren has nine tackles in nine games this season.

The Patriots also announced Saturday that safety Patrick Chung (foot), center Dan Connolly (groin), linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee) and running back Shane Vereen (hamstring) would not play vs. the Redskins.

Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington (foot), wideout Julian Edelman (back), cornerback Devin McCourty (shoulder) and running back Danny Woodhead (abdomen) are active after previously being listed questionable for Sunday’s game.

Visit www.nfl.com/inactives to see inactive players in every Sunday game.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots announced Saturday that defensive lineman Eric Moore has been signed to the 53-man roster and that defensive back Malcolm Williams has been signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.In addition, defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and defensive back Sterling Moore has been released.Moore, 30, played in four games with three starts last season for the Patriots and finished with 13 tackles. two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He went to training camp with the Patriots this past summer but was released on Sept. 3. Moore, six feet four inches and 268 pounds, was originally drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round (186th overall) out of Florida State in 2005.He also played with New Orleans (2006) and St. Louis (2006-08). He spent part of the 2009 season on the Carolina practice squad and also played with the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League in 2010. In five NFL seasons, Moore has played in 33 NFL games with four starts and has registered 33 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven special teams tackles.Williams, 24, was originally drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Texas Christian. Williams, 5 feet 11 inches and 200 pounds, was released by the Patriots on Aug. 29 and then spent two stints on the New England practice squad.Cunningham, 23, is in his second season with New England after joining the team as a second round (53rd overall) draft pick out of Florida in 2010. As a rookie, he played in 15 games with 11 starts and finished with 41 total tackles, one sack, one pass defensed and two forced fumbles. Cunningham, 6 feet 3 inches and 260 pounds, played in nine games in 2011 with one tackle.Moore, 21, has played in five games with three starts for the Patriots this season and registered six total tackles. He spent time on the New England practice squad prior to joining the 53-man roster. Moore, 5 feet 10 inches and 205 pounds, originally signed with Oakland as a rookie free agent on July 28 out of Southern Methodist. After being released by Oakland following training camp, he spent the first few weeks of the season on the Oakland practice squad.