Week 14 rewind

Get ready for the onslaught of stories anointing the Patriots as unbeatable. Because here they come.

The Pats' domination of the Texans on Monday night was as complete a game against a good opponent as the team has had in a few years. When you beat the top seed in the conference 42-14 there's not much to put into the bad column. I guess the only bad would be that it wasn't the Super Bowl. I expected the Patriots to play like that in the '07 Super Bowl ... I'm still waiting.

GOOD

• Brady may have locked up another MVP trophy with this one. He completed 21 out of 35 passes for 296 yards. Not eye-popping stats. But he was in command the whole game. Four touchdowns. No picks. He led touchdown drives of 36, 82, 70, 74, 72, and 68 yards. Total command.
• This was supposed to be the year of Aaron Hernandez. The other tight end. But an ankle sprain in the second game of the season has put a dent in that. But Hernandez seems to be healthy again as his eight catches and two touchdowns showed. If Gronk and Hernandez are both healthy come playoff time then the Pats just might be unbeatable. Because both should be pretty fresh.
• Devin McCourty is you new starting safety. The rookie of the year cornerback lost his touch playing his natural position. It's been a puzzling development. But since being moved to safety McCourty has gotten his touch back. He made a huge interception in the end zone to snuff out an early Houston drive  and he had five solo tackles.
• Big Vince keeps playing bigger and bigger. There may be no better defensive player in football. The Pats are one of the top teams against the run and Wilfork is the main reason. The defense held Arian Foster to under 50 yards rushing. That's impressive.
• Rookie Chandler Jones was having a rookie-of-the-year type of season before he got hurt. He's back now and hopefully can get back in gear by playoff time. The other top rookie the team drafted in the first round, D'onta Hightower, has had more of a struggle so far. But against Houston, the linebacker tied for the team lead with six tackles. He was all over the place. He may be a factor when it really counts.

BAD

• Like I said, the only bad thing about this game was that it wasn't the Super Bowl. But it still meant a lot. Suddenly the top seed is a possibility because Houston has to play the red-hot Colts twice. If the Pats play this solid in their final three games then, as they say, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Gillette.