Week 10 rewind

At the top of the list of golden rules of the NFL season is "Thou must win thy division games."

The Pats have rode that rule to nine AFC East titles in the last 11 years. Adhering to that rule almost always gets you into the playoffs. After beating the Bills at Gillette Sunday the Pats have made it halfway through their division battles without a loss. 3-0. Everyone else in the division has at least two losses.

Every win in the division is a good win.

GOOD

• No turnovers. OK, when the best thing you can say about a win is that there were no turnovers you know it wasn't the most impressive performance. But the second golden rule of the NFL is "Thou shalt not coughest up the ball." That's Pats continue to religiously follow that rule too.
• Stevan Ridley. The second-year back finished with 98 yards and a touchdown. If the Pats weren't able to run the ball with Ridley there's no telling how many points the Bills could have put up against the Pats' D. Ridley and the running game continue to be a huge factor.
• Woody. Danny Woodhead has taken over the Kevin Faulk role. That means he may not play a huge part in every game, but when he does it's usually key. Against the Bills he had a great 15-yard touchdown run in the first half and then an even better 18-yard touchdown grab where he and Brady kept a play alive and got a big score.
• Clutch play. One of the biggest knocks on the team earlier in the year (and the last few years) was that the Pats weren't winning close games. Well, they are winning them now. Devin McCourty's pick in the end zone may have been a bad pass by Fitzpatrick but it was still a clutch play. He could have dropped it.

BAD

• Speaking of drops, there were too many of them. Welker dropped a sure touchdown and then another that could have gone for a long gain. Brandon Lloyd continue to have some drops. It's not a "bad' that you should see too much of.
• 481 yards of total offense by the Bills. Fitzpatrick and the Bills have been able to move the ball on the defense for the past few years so it's no big surprise. But still, allowing nearly 500 yards of offense at home is very very bad.
• The Pats may be winning close games, but this one shouldn't have been a close game. The Pats led 24-10 after Gronk had a touchdown spike late in the second quarter. But the D let the Bills march for a score right before the half and let them stay in the game from that point on. Holding on to leads is still a bit of a problem.

It wasn't a pretty win. But it was a division win.