The Patriots are 2-0 at home this year but the Ravens travel well as they are 2-1 on the road.  The Patriots will try to avenge a absolute beatdown that the Ravens applied on them last January in the playoffs (33-14) on this very field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are going to try to be balanced in an attempt to keep the Ravens’ offense off the field.  That means that BenJarvus Green-Ellis could get a lot of carries this weekend.  When the Patriots throw the ball I expect it to be of the shorter variety to help nullify the Ravens pass rush and keep the clock running.  Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Julian Edelman and Deion Branch will likely get targeted a lot by the guy with the Justin Bieber hairdo.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely want to stay balanced.  But this could be the week that Joe Flacco really breaks out against a Patriots’ D that is giving up 272.3 yards passing per game.  The Patriots are likely going to have to key the running game against the Ravens though because Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will likely cause them a lot of problems if they try to get extra DBs on the field.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, PATRIOTS 20

The Patriots and Dolphins split last season with each team winning at home.  The Patriots’ D has really been awful this year and the Dolphins like to play ball control which could lead to trouble in this game.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  Tom Brady completed 44 of 66 passes (66.7%) for 684 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs against the Dolphins last season.  He is off to another great start for the Patriots and if he gets time to throw the ball he will have success throwing the ball on Monday Night.  TE Aaron Hernandez and WRs Wes Welker and Randy Moss give him three really big weapons to throw to.  But a key in this game could be the running of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Fred Taylor as the Dolphins are giving up 117.3 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry.  If the Patriots throw short passes and run the ball it will keep their own, awful D off the field.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins will likely come out running the ball with Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams against a Patriots’ D that is giving up 119.0 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry.  But the Fins will also go to the air a lot in this game as the Patriots are giving up 260.3 yards passing and opposing QBs have a 100.1 Rating against them.  Chad Henne will likely team up with WR Brandon Marshall who is going to have a HUGE game this week.  Brian Hartline and Davone Bess will handle the short stuff in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 33, PATRIOTS 30

The Patriots have won 13 games in a row against the Buffalo Bills.  But the Bills played them tough last season as they were only outscored 42-34 by the Patriots.  The Bills have been outscored 49-17 this season so look for the Patriots to try to jump them early and break their will.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  I see the Patriots attacking the Bills through the air early and often in this game.  Last year Tom Brady was 50 of 76 (65.8%) for 493 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs against the Bills.  I look for the Patriots to spread the field and go where the matchups dictate in this game.  Randy Moss and Wes Welker will likely get most of the targets in this game for the Patriots.  Rookie TE Aaron Hernandez is the guy who could really cause problems for the Bills in this game because he will likely have single coverage with either a linebacker or a safety on him.  The Patriots will likely on use the ground game to churn out the clock if they get a big lead.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are only averaging 176.0 total yards per game so far this season.  They have switched QBs (Ryan Fitzpatrick to start) but I don’t think it will matter for them.  Fitzpatrick has a weak throwing arm and the Bills are going to try to run the ball with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  That will allow the safeties to move up and help against the running game. 

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 37, BILLS 17

This will be a heavy weight battle along the lines of Ali-Frazier.  The Patriots are an offensive team while the Jets are a defensive team.  Something has to give and it will on Sunday.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Patriots have the football:  I don’t see the Patriots changing the offense to adjust to the Jets’ D.  Brady completed 51 of 88 passes (58%) with 526 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT against the Jets last season so he will not be intimidated by them.  Randy Moss only caught 9 passes for 58 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD grab against the Jets last season as he doesn’t appear to like dealing with Darrelle Revis.  Wes Welker though is a different story.  He didn’t play in the loss on the road against the Jets last season but he played in the home game won by the Patriots in which he caught 15 passes for 192 yards.  Brady will also likely target his backs in the flat and his TEs as Todd Heap looked good against the Jets last weekend.  Fred Taylor will try to get some yards on the ground when he’s needed.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to try to pound the Patriots on the ground with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene.  If they have success running the ball it will open up the passing game for Mark Sanchez who did not play well against the Patriots last season as they picked him off four times.  The Patriots will likely be blitzing Sanchez a lot in this game to cause him to make mistakes.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 23, JETS 16

Tom Brady has proven to be invincible as he was in a serious car crash today.  He shrugged it off and is practicing already as he appears fine.  The Patriots have a very tough challenge in front of them this Sunday as the Bengals look like a pretty solid football team.  Here is a close look at the match-ups this Sunday:

When the Patriots have the football:  The Patriots are good at what they do and I think the gameplan will reflect that Sunday as I see them throwing the ball early and often.  Randy Moss and Wes Welker are going to face a stiff challenge from Bengals’ CBs Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph but that won’t keep Brady from aiming for them a lot.  Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and the deep corps of TEs could also get a lot of looks in this game which will put a lot of pressure on the Bengals’ safeties in this game.  The Patriots might also try to attack the Bengals with perimeter runs and passes out of the backfield to Kevin Faulk.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals will be taking aim at the Patriots young secondary with Chad Ocho Cinco and Terrell Owens.  While the Patriots would be smart to give the corners safety help over the top it might be hard to do because rookies (WR) Jordan Shipley and (TE) Jermaine Gresham are going to be tough on the short stuff.  The Patriots hope that the D-Line and inside linebackers will be able to handle stopping Cedric Benson which will not be an easy task.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 24, BENGALS 21

The Patriots are 8-0 at home this season and they look to keep the streak alive tomorrow against the Ravens in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.  The Patriots will likely use a lot of short passes and running plays in a attempt to keep the Ravens’ offense off the field.  The Patriots are a very underrated running team as they averaged 120.1 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry this year.  They will likely rotate all of their running backs in this game trying to keep them fresh.  The Ravens will likely double Randy Moss the whole game but that won’t stop Tom Brady from throwing a few passes his way.  I have a feeling that Benjamin Watson, Julian Edelman and Kevin Faulk could be the stars in the passing game for the Patriots tomorrow.

Defensively the Patriots will have to go all out to stop Ray Rice and Willis McGahee.  These are the two most lethal players on the Ravens’ offense so the front seven will have to step up tomorrow if the Patriots are to win this game.  The Patriots should also double cover Derrick Mason forcing Joe Flacco to throw the ball to Mark Clayton when they want to go downfield.  Safeties Brandon Meriweather and Brandon McGowan must stop TE Todd Heap or the Patriots could be in some trouble.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 21, RAVENS 20

The Patriots are playing for the #3 seed in the playoffs while the Texans still have a shot at making the playoffs with a win and a little help.  I have a feeling that the Patriots might not be going all out in this game content to be the #4 seed in the playoffs.  Tom Brady will likely not play very long in this football game.  Undrafted rookie QB Brian Hoyer will likely get his first extensive action in tomorrow’s game.  I can’t really see the Patriots letting Wes Welker or Randy Moss playing much on Sunday if at all in this game.  The Patriots will likely lean on the running game in tomorrow’s game with Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk splitting the load.

Defensively the Patriots will have to get after QB Matt Schaub or they will be in big trouble tomorrow.  Schaub is having a Pro Bowl type of year and he will be out to prove that he deserved it more than Tom Brady did this season.  The Patriots must double cover Andre Johnson the whole game or they will get burned early and often in this game.  Undrafted rookie RB Arian Foster is coming off a solid game for the Texans last week so the Patriots had better be ready to deal with him also.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 30, PATRIOTS 17

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 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 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