Bringing it home

WEEK 16
The day after Christmas is usually one of relaxing, returning gifts, digesting the holiday meal, and -- in my case -- working. The newspaper comes out every day. You know. Newspapers. Remember?

WEEK 16: Finishing strong.

I knew I would be driving my way through a blizzard to and from work but that was OK because there would be lots of great sports radio to listen to because the Patriots had gone into usually snowy Buffalo and thumped the Bills 34-3 to wrap up the AFC East and homefield throughout the playoffs.

Each year Mark and I say there are three goals for the regular season: 1. Win your division. 2. Earn a first-round bye. 3. Get homefield advantage. Check. Check. Check. Rex Ryan always skips those goals and goes right to winning the Super Bowl. Which explains why the Jets are runners-up in the division yet again.

The Patriots jumped all over the Bills early, putting up 27 points in the first half. Brady threw three more TDs while BenJarvis broke 100 yards rushing. Woody came close too, putting up 93 yards. It was a solid offensive performance. But it was the defense that was the story, forcing seven turnovers. Since starting the season giving up points and yards in healthy doses, the youngest defense in the league has started to cut down on both. Since the first half of the Thanksgiving game in Detroit, the D has given up very few big plays and even fewer points. It's key to the team's playoff hopes. The offense will be able to make plays when the games get even tougher. The question all year has been will the defense be able to? As of the moment, the answer is looking like yes.

There's one more home game to go in the regular season -- the day after New Year's against Miami. It should be fun, although probably frigid. It will be good practice for the playoffs at Gillete, where the Patriots will play all their games for as long as they are alive.