The Patriots have sent four players to the Pro Bowl.  The Patriots hope that they have to cancel their plans due to them being in the Super Bowl.  32-year old QB Tom Brady has made it all the way back from his serious knee injury last season to the Pro Bowl.  Brady has played in 15 games for the Patriots last night and he completed 354 of 539 passes (65.7%) for 4,212 yards with 28 TD passes and 12 INTs (97.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 29 times for 44 yards (1.5 ypc) with a TD run.  27-year old OG Logan Mankins has made it to the Pro Bowl.  He is a nasty blocker in both the running game and the passing game.  He has played in 15 games (all starts) for the Patriots this season.  28-year old WR Wes Welker has made it to the Pro Bowl and he definitely deserves it.  He played in 13 games for the Patriots this season and he has caught 122 passes for 1,336 yards (11.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Welker has also carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards (7.2 ypc).  His toughness allows him to go over the middle more than any WR in the league and he has now been rewarded for it.  28-year old DT Vince Wilfork has also made the Pro Bowl despite not having his best season.  Wilfork has played in 13 games this season and he has made 43 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  The Patriots hope they have other plans in Miami other than the Pro Bowl.

The Patriots completely destroyed the Jaguars yesterday at Foxboro.  Tom Brady was awesome completing 23 of 26 passes for 267 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Sammy Morris led the way on the ground for the Patriots last night with 95 yards rushing on 12 carries (7.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Fred Taylor (11 car, 35 yards), Laurence Maroney (5 car, 22 yards) and Kevin Faulk (6 car, 41 yards) all pitched in for the Patriots who owned the line of scrimmage in this game.  Wes Welker led the way in the passing game with 13 grabs for 138 yards (10.6 avg) yesterday.  Randy Moss was also very effective catching 4 passes for 45 yards (11.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs!  TE Chris Baker pitched in with 2 catches for 32 yards (16.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Patriots finished up with 464 total yards on offense (197 rushing, 267 passing) in this game.

Jared Mayo led the way for the Patriots yesterday with 15 tackles and 1 QB hit.  Safety Brandon Meriweather (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB Shawn Springs (3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception) also pitched in with big plays for the Patriots in this game.  The Jaguars finished up with 275 total yards on offense (98 rushing, 177 passing) in this game.  The Patriots are now 10-5 on the year.

The New England Patriots (9-5) didn’t play their best on Sunday, but they did enough to beat the Buffalo Bills (5-9).  Randy Moss was probably the Patriots top offensive player, coming off a week where people claimed he quit on plays.  Moss caught 5 passes for 70 yards and 1 touchdown.  It was one of only two touchdowns for the Patriots who managed to get only 224 total yards on the day.  Tom Brady looked was off and threw for only 115 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception on 11/23 passes.  Laurence Maroney ran the ball pretty well, rushing for 81 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries.

This was more of a defensive game, and the Patriots defense held down the Bills very well.  The Bills offense put up some similar numbers as the Pats offense.  The Bills were only able to get 241 total yards and the Pats defense held them to 136 passing yards.  They had a hard time with Fred Jackson though, as he rushed for 80 yards on only 15 carries.  This wasn’t exactly a pretty game for either side, but the Patriots got the win.  It was only their second road win of the year.

The New England Patriots (8-5) have not been very good on the road this year, but that will likely change this week as they take on the Buffalo Bills (5-8).  The Patriots have beat the Bills in 12 straight matchups, and I don’t expect this one to be any different despite all of the negative things that have been surrounding the Patriots lately.  Tom Brady is a little banged up, but he still should be able to take advantage of the unimpressive Bills’ defense.  They are better at stopping the pass than the run though, so Laurence Maroney should get a lot of carries.  It’s also probably going to be very cold with snow being a real possibility, giving the Patriots more incentive to run the ball.  That and the fact that the Bills give up 170 rushing yards per game.

Defensively, the Patriots need to keep Terrell Owens in check.  TO has been much more effective lately and has 3 touchdowns in the past four games.  He has been battling an illness though, and may not play because of it.  They will likely be running the ball a lot though, as Fitzpatrick’s numbers have been far from impressive.  They average 113 rushing yards per game, so the Patriots defense needs to be ready for the run.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 24, Buffalo Bills 14

The Patriots turned to the ground game to pull them through in this game.  With Tom Brady a little gimpy the running backs picked him up today.  Brady completed 19 of 32 passes for 192 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Laurence Maroney was solid with 22 carries for 94 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Kevin Faulk pitched in with 10 carries for 58 yards (5.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  Sammy Morris even got in on the action today with 6 carries for 35 yards (5.8 ypc).  Wes Welker carried the passing game for the Patriots today with 10 grabs for 105 yards (10.5 avg).  TE Ben Watson pitched in with 3 grabs for 37 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Randy Moss disappeared right before our very eyes today as he only caught 1 pass for 16 yards.  The Patriots finished up with 377 total yards on offense (185 rushing, 192 passing) in his game as they held onto the football for 34:15!

LB Jared Mayo (7 tackles) and safety James Sanders (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Patriots on D today.  The Panthers finished up with 305 total yards on offense in this game (126 rushing, 179 passing).  The Patriots are now 8-5 on the season as they stay one game ahead of the Dolphins and Jets who both won today.

The Patriots are likely going to be in a foul mood this Sunday and that is bad news for the Panthers.  Tom Brady will come out throwing the ball early and often to Randy Moss and Wes Welker in this game.  The Panthers do have 17 interceptions this season so Brady will have to be careful with the football unlike last weekend against the Fins.  Don’t look for the Patriots to take the foot off the gas pedal even if they jump to a quick lead in this football game as they will try to score every time they have the ball just like they did against the Titans earlier this season.

The defense has to stop the running game of the Panthers but that will be easier said than done as they are averaging 151.9 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carr this year.  The Patriots will likely be doubling Steve Smith all game long and dare QB Matt Moore to beat them through the air with someone else which isn’t likely.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 33, PANTHERS 13

The Patriots have lost 23-year old back-up safety Bret Lockett for the year.  Lockett played in 10 games for the Patriots this season and he made 7 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  The Patriots have activated DL Titus Adams off the practice squad to replace Lockett on the roster.  The 26-year old Adams has not played in a game yet in his career.

The Patriots choked on defense in this game as they led Chad Henne torture them all game long.  Fins’ kicker Dan Carpenter kicked a 41-yard field goal with 1:02 left in the game as the defense let the kid QB drive right down the field at the end of the game to beat them.  LB Jerod Mayo led the way for the Patriots on D last night with 12 tackles, 1/2 a sack and he had a QB hit.  CB Darius Butler pitched in with 8 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  The Dolphins finished up with 416 total yards on offense (88 rushing, 328 passing) in this game.

Tom Brady had a so-so game for him completing 19 of 29 passes for 352 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Laurence Maroney led the way on the ground for the Pats yesterday with 41 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.2 ypc).  Sammy Morris pitched in with 40 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg).  Kevin Faulk pitched in with 3 carries for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Wes Welker had another outstanding game for the Patriots with 10 grabs for 167 yards.  Sam Aiken only caught 1 pass but it went for a 81-yard TD.  Randy Moss only caught 2 passes for 66 yards (33.0 avg) with a TD.  The Patriots finished up with 448 yards on offense (96 rushing, 352 passing) in this game.  The Patriots are now 7-5 on the season but their lead in the AFC East is only 1 game over each the Fins and the Jets.

The Patriots have a weak schedule the rest of the way so they need to finish off the Dolphins’ hopes this Sunday.  The Dolphins need to take care of business this weekend or they should start getting ready for 2010.  The Patriots beat the Dolphins four weeks ago 27-17 at Foxboro.  The Patriots will stick to the same thing that worked so well against the Fins the first time and that is throwing the football.  Tom Brady threw for 332 times the last time these two teams played and he will likely torture the rookie corners on the Fins’ roster.  Look for Randy Moss and Wes Welker to both go over 100 yards receiving in this game.  The Patriots will likely only turn to the running game to help grind out the clock.

The Dolphins will come out running the football against the Patriots on Sunday.  The Patriots are allowing 109.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so Ricky Williams should get his share of yards.  Still, look for the front seven and the safeties to be creeping up into the box to stop the Fins’ running game.  The Dolphins must have Chad Henne take a few deep shots off play action or it’s going to be a long day for them offensively.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 30, DOLPHINS 17

28-year old WR Wes Welker is still Tom Brady’s right hand man.  He has played in 9 games for the Patriots this season and he has caught 85 passes for 886 yards (10.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 4 times for 31 yards (7.8 ypc) and he has returned 16 punts for 236 yards (14.8 avg).  The Patriots really need Welker to stay healthy the rest of the year because he gets the tough yards over the middle for them.  Welker has now played in 41 games in his three years with the Patriots in which he has caught 308 passes for 3,226 yards (10.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards (8.3 ypc) and he has returned 65 punts for 722 yards (11.1 avg).  Welker is one of the best players on the Patriots so they can’t afford to have him miss any more time due to injury this year.