'Tis the season

WEEK 14

Patriots 42, Texans 14 (12/10/'12): The headline on this post has been banned (rightfully so) this time of year at the newspaper where I work. But when it comes to December and the New England Patriots it truly 'tis the season ... for winning .. when it really counts.

All week the Patriots said the game against Houston, the AFC's top seed, was a good measuring stick for them. In 2012 in the AFC, it's still the Patriots who are the stick and it's the rest of the conference that keeps doing the measuring. And coming up short.

The Texans are a very good team and if they have home-field advantage in the playoffs they will be tough to beat. But last night, in what they themselves admitted was the biggest game in the history of their franchise, the Texans were not a very good team. At least not when compared to the Patriots.

The game was supposed to be a tight contest and played in very rainy conditions. Neither proved to be the case. The back seat of my car was loaded up with rain gear and we invested in a new tailgating tent (like the team, we are getting ready for the playoffs) but we didn't need it. My raincoat stayed in the car and the tent ended up shielding us from the rays of sun that broke through the clouds just before sunset instead of the predicted downpours. A Monday evening in the Enchanted Forest with temperatures in the 50s and steaks on the grill had us fired up by the time we got to kickoff. Seems the Pats were pretty fired up to.

Brady and the offense scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and it was 21-0 before the Texans could get their prime-time sea legs. Brady and Lloyd connected on a rare deep bomb for the second score which came just a few plays after McCourty picked off Matt Schaub in the Pats' end zone. The offense was clicking and the defense was coming up with third-down stop after stop. One team looked focused and confident. The other looked confused and intimidated. As is often the case, it was the Pats doing the intimidating.

Brady finished with nearly 300 yards passing and threw for four touchdowns with no picks. He spread the ball around to Welker, Hernandez, Lloyd, Woodhead, and even connected for a 63-yard touchdown with old friend  Donte Stallworth. And the running game was strong again. On defense, the Pats held Arian Foster -- the second-best back in the league -- to just 46 yards. It was an all around impressive performance.

It's been so long since the Pats have lost a home game in December that I can't even remember it. Next week will be an even bigger challenge as the Niners -- with the league best defense -- come to Gillette for a Sunday night game. It's another measuring stick game.  And it's the Niners who will be doing the measuring.

It's December. 'Tis the season.