The New England Patriots (7-3) are heading south in what I expect to be one of the best games of the season against the New Orleans Saints (10-0) on Monday Night Football.  If the Patriots don’t end the Saint’s undefeated season Monday night, then the Saints are very likely going to tie the Patriots 16-0 season from 2007 since their schedule is not very difficult after this week.  The Saints have an electric offense, so even though the Pats are holding opponents to 187 passing yards per game, the Saints offense is going to find success.  Drew Brees has 22 touchdowns and has been having an MVP caliber season.  They also have a three-back attack in the running game, with Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell all contributing to the 154 rushing yard average per game.  The Patriots offense is going to need to be on top of their game, and it should be a shoot-out.

Tom Brady and the Pats’ offense has been just as impressive at times this year as the Saints’ offense has been.  Brady has been going to his favorite target Wes Welker even more than usual lately, as teams have been trying to shut down Randy Moss and the deep ball.  Welker has been so successful lately that it may open that deep ball back up for Brady and Moss.  The Saints’ defense is giving up 330 yards per game, compared to the Patriots’ defense who only gives up 297 per game.  I think Brady and the Pats’ offense will be able to keep up with Brees and the Saints, and I am going to go with the Patriots with a late field goal for the win.  This should be a very exciting game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 34, New Orleans Saints 31

The New England Patriots (6-3) are hosting the New York Jets (4-5) this week and are looking for revenge.  The Jets beat them 16-9 in week 2 and the Patriots were shocked.  That was when Tom Brady was still struggling and adjusting after returning from his knee surgery that kept him out the entire 2008 season.  The real Tom Brady is back and I don’t think the Jets will have an answer for him and the Patriots offense.  He has been finding Randy Moss for some big touchdown passes and hitting Wes Welker and a lot of catch and run plays.  They are also averaging 114 rushing yards per game, so it will  be a big challenge for the Jets to contain Brady and the Patriots.

The Patriots offense needs to key in on stopping the run.  The Jets limit what their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez does, as Sanchez tends to throw a lot of interceptions when he is given too much freedom.  The Jets average 170 rushing yards per game, so they don’t exactly need Sanchez to have big games.  So, if the Patriots can shut down Jets’ running back Thomas Jones then they will win the game for sure.  It will force Sanchez to throw more, most likely leading to some Patriots interceptions.  The Jets have a strong defense though and may be able to contain the Patriots offense some, but it wont be enough and the Patriots should win easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 31, New York Jets 20

This is the matchup of the year, with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (6-2) taking on Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts (8-0).  I think this will be a Brady-Manning shootout and it should be pretty exciting to watch.  Although both defenses are solid, both Manning and Brady are great quarterbacks who perform well on the big stage so it will be hard stopping either one.  Manning has passed for over 300 yards in every game but one this season, so the Patriots secondary better be ready for a long day.  They need to be ready to adjust on the field, as Manning loves to audible at the line scrimmage.  He also has a talented Joseph Addai to hand off to, so the linebackers are going to need to help the front line shut the running game down.

The Patriots offense should be able go keep up with Manning and the Colts.  The Colts are holding teams to under 200 passing yards per game, but they have not had to play Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker yet.  I don’t see how they will keep them under 200 yards with Welker slicing through the middle of the field and Moss a deep threat on every play.  The running game should help do some damage too, as the Colts give up 108 rushing yards per game.  I am really looking forward to this game and I am expecting a high scoring close game.  Peyton Manning has been playing some of his best football all season though, so I am taking them in a very close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Indianapolis Colts 38, New England Patriots 35

This is a big game for both of these teams in the AFC East.  The Dolphins need this game to get back into the division race as they are 3-4 on the year while the Patriots sit atop the division with a 5-2 record.  The Fins will keep the ball on the ground in this game with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams against a Patriots’ D that is allowing 109.4 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  They will likely use a lot of the Wildcat Formation against the Patriots on Sunday.  The Fins will likely keep passing to the play action variety as Chad Henne has been so-so since taking over as the starting QB.

The Patriots will likely try to jump on the Fins with the passing game.  If Tom Brady has time to throw the ball (which is likely) then he will attack the corners of the Dolphins who are both rookies with Randy Moss, Wes Welker and rookie Brandon Tate.  Ben Watson might also be a factor for the Patriots in this game as he has a huge size advantage over the guys that will be covering him.  Laurence Maroney will probably carry the load in the running game against the Fins but expect the Patriots to concentrate on using their Air Raid on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 34, DOLPHINS 27

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (4-2) put on a record breaking show last week, and will be bringing that show to London, England this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6).  Brady had a record-breaking five touchdowns in one quarter last week when the Patriots crushed the winless Tennessee Titans 59-0.  The Patriots are taking on another winless team in the Buccaneers and I am expecting another big game from Brady and the Patriots’ offense.  The Buccaneers are completely over-matched in this one and they could be embarrassed just like the Titans were last week.

The Bucs have had difficulty getting consistency out of the quarterback position and Josh Johnson is their starter after Byron Leftwich was benched after week three.  The Patriots defense should look to force some turnovers as Johnson has thrown five interceptions in the past three games.  The Bucs running game is pretty effective though, so they need to key in on stopping Cadillac Williams and Josh Johnsons’ scrambling.  They averaged about 100 rushing yards per game and if the Patriots can shut down their run, then the Bucs have no chance. This should be another blowout for the Patriots and the British will be able to see what real football is like.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 35, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13