Familiar finish
Pats close with mostly AFC East foes
What a dream stretch for the Patriots.
Five of the last six games against AFC East opponents, the division title on the line, a playoff bye in the offering. What pressure, what a run they must make. The Dolphins, the Bills and the Jets; the Dolphins and Bills twice. Oh my, I must be dreaming.
Let’s see what these Patriots are made of. They are on a six-game win streak but Bill’s Boys have never faced a harrowing stretch run like what remains in the season’s final six weeks.
Three of the next four games on the road, with only a stop in Pittsburgh getting in the way of this wondrous division drive to postseason glory. And there’s a Monday night game in Miami. Oh no. The Pats never have handled things well in the heat of the night there.
So they beat the Broncos in Denver, so they burri- toed the Raiders in Mexico. Those teams are pretend- ers. Not so with these Dol- phins, Bills and Jets. The AFC East has never looked more competitive. Only one game separates that trio of trouble. You knew this would be historic when you saw five of the last six games against division rivals
Veteran leadership at quarterback in Miami’s Jay Cutler and the Jets’ Josh McCown. And Buffalo is always revved up for the Patriots visit.
Tossing and turning all night as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will have to put together a run of per- fect game plans and pre- cise execution to survive this gauntlet of formidable foes. Please, Tommy Boy, take no risks in the pocket, get touchdowns in the red zone and avoid any tosses to Dwayne “Dropsie” Allen.
This is oh-so scary, can feel the misery, can see the misery. It’s creepy . . . the Pats are done for ... it’s all over . . . Tommy retires . . . the Jets win the division ... dynasty dead!
“Hey, wake up, wake up. You’re trembling. You’re having a nightmare.”
“What a horrible dream. The Pats lose to the Dolphins, Bills and Jets and don’t make the playoffs. It was so real! Thank goodness that could never happen because. . .” This Is The Year:
Miami at Patriots (-16) — Jay Cutler said he can do anything Nathan Peterman can do and was out to prove it last week with three picks in the first half. Keep on chucking, Jay. Pats, 34-16.
Pass the Tums:
Cleveland at Cincinnati (-71⁄2) — Not this week Brownies. But begging you to keep it oh-so close. Bengals, 26-20.
Chicago at Philadelphia (-131⁄2) — The Bears ask the Eagles if they could keep it under 50 they’d appreciate it. Eagles, 49-12.
Buffalo at Kansas City (-91⁄2) — Jim Kelly said “no way,” Joe Ferguson has no arm left and Jack Kemp is dead, so in Buffalo it’s back to Tyrod Taylor at QB. Thus . . . Chiefs, 31-6.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-10) — Now that the Falcons are sticking their beaks back in it, they get back to making things very uneasy for themselves again. Falcons, 26-24.
Carolina (-41⁄2) at NY Jets — Panthers never take anything serious, except touchdown celebrations. Better take this one seriously. Jets, 23-20.
Tennessee (-31⁄2) at Indianapolis — You always feel as if the Titans should be much better. They’ll leave you with that feeling again.
Titans, 16-14.
Seattle (-61⁄2) at San Francisco — Halfway through the first quarter the rants begin: “Jimmy G! Jimmy G! Where’s Jimmy G!” Seahawks, 36-13.
New Orleans at LA Rams (-21⁄2) — The Saints were very lucky to get their eighth win in a row last week. Luck won’t help now.
Rams, 31-23.
Jacksonville (-5) at Arizona — Good to see some new blood making threatening gestures. Now Jax, find yourself a quarterback soon. Jaguars, 24-9.
Denver at Oakland (-4) — Lots of changes happening now and in the future for these two clumsy clubs. Start with the head coaches. Raiders, 27-16.
Green Bay at Pittsburgh (-14) — The Aaron Rodgers-less Packers are shooting for being shutout again. They even left their kicker home. Steelers, 27-0.
Houston at Baltimore (-7) — Speaking of shutouts, the Ravens have three this year. Yes they do. Ravens, 14-10. Last week: 7-6-1 Season: 67-83-8