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When the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, they opened up a two game lead over the New York Jets in the AFC East. Considering the Jets were in the midst of falling apart -- they lost six of seven games in their bad stretch -- it seemed like a mere formality the Pats would cruise to the AFC East title. After enduring a rough patch of their own, however, teamed with rejuvenations of the Dolphins and Jets, New England entered Sunday's game with Carolina with just a one-game cushion. It was fitting that they were able to grit out a victory and maintain that small lead (the Dolphins and Jets both won to stay on the Pats' heels). It was indicative of their tenuous hold on the division. It wasn't pretty, but they got the job done and that's all that matters as things currently stand.
"All week Bill [Belichick] talked about finishing,'' Patriots running back Kevin Faulk said, "focusing, playing hard and finishing games.''
The Patriots entered halftime tied, 7-7 with a team who was using Matt Moore at quarterback -- a third-year player making his fifth career start. They ended up turning the ball over three times, while not taking it away once. Tom Brady threw for just 192 yards, easily his lowest output of the season. Brady only found Randy Moss one time (for 16 yards).
But, give them credit, the only number that really matters is the final score. They escaped with a win, 20-10, on the strength of defense and the running game. The Pats' defense only let the Panthers in the end zone one time and the trio of Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris combined to run the ball 183 yards on 38 carries.
Miami was able to outlast the Jags on the road, 14-10, as they further cemented the new-found balance offensively. Chad Henne threw for 220 yards while Ricky Williams ran for 108. The Jets easily manhandled the hapless Buccaneers in Tampa, 26-3, as their defense completely shut down the Bucs' offense and got a big rushing day from Thomas Jones (99 yards, two touchdowns). The two teams are now part of a four-way tie for the final AFC playoff spot and, again, just one game behind the AFC East-leading Patriots.
The bad news for the Patriots is they only have one more home game. They are 7-0 at home and 1-5 on the road this year. The good news is that the road games are in Buffalo -- who they play next week and Houston -- though those still won't be overly easy, especially against a Texans team who could easily be 8-5 themselves.
The Jets host the Falcons next week, while the Dolphins head to Tennessee.
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