Satisfying taste

WEEK 12
I missed much of the first half of the Pats Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit as I was making my way to my sister's house in Portland. I'm thankful for that. The second half -- as well as the meal and drinks that followed -- was much more enjoyable.

WEEK 12: Heaping helping of points.

The Patriots are 9-2 after their raucous come-from-behind 45-24 victory. They are once again tied for the best record in the league -- with their division rival NY Jets. The two teams will meet on Monday night at Gillette in just more than a week. The latest in a string of biggest-game-of-the-year for the Pats will be the biggest one of all. A victory would be a giant step to a first-round bye. A loss and the Pats, even if they finish 13-3, would most likely have to go on the road to places like Indy or San Diego in the first round.

There was a lot to like about the Pats victory over the Lions. The thing I like the most is that the defense allowed just one touchdown in the second half. That's a big change from most of the season. Just because it was against the Lions doesn't diminish it. The young defense, on just three days rest, got stronger as the game went on. All led by Vince Wilfork who is having a Hall-of-Fame level season.

The highest scoring offense in the league had a monster second half. Brady -- after getting the stuffing knocked out of him in the first half -- was unstoppable, throwing four TD passes. He finished a ridiculous 21-for-27 for 341 yards. Woodhead and BenJarvis (scored two more TDs for a total of 9 on the season) averaged more than four yards a carry and made big plays on the ground when needed. Most importantly, the offense once again had no turnovers and made few mistakes.

The Patriots were 7-4 after 11 games last year. It's only a two game difference but this year's team is much more than two games better than the 2009 version. And that's without starters Ty Warren, Kevin Faulk, Leigh Bodden, Logan Mankins (for the first half of the year), and now Stephen Gostkowski. Different players have stepped up each week to give a boost to the core guys. That's a credit to those players and to Belichick and the coaching staff.

As is always the case (just ask the Jets), there is a lot of luck involved in 9-2. Even the 16-0 Patriots had a lot of things break their way. That's part of the equation in a championship run. But the 2010 Patriots are making a lot more plays when it counts. That's the difference this year. That's why they won the game against the Colts and that's why they won on Thanksgiving Day.

They will have to continue to do that down the stretch against some very tough teams in order to be in the best position possible come playoff time. The stretch starts at Gillette against the Jets a week from Monday.