The Evil Patriots Win One For The Ages

I'm still trying to figure out just how the Patriots beat the Colts 24-20 on Sunday night in a matchup of two monster teams. Often times, these games—like title fights—never live up to the hype. This one did, and with so many angles it would make a geometry teacher's head spin.

For the first 51 minutes of the game, the Patriots played about as bad of a football game as they possibly could have. From the menu, you could order some poor tackling—the Joseph Addai dash for a touchdown at the end of the first half being the penultimate example. Maybe throw in an order of being physically outmatched by the intensity of the Colts. Ask the waitress to bring over a plate of Tom Brady being hesitant and inconsistent. And then for dessert, ask for a dish of the Patriots setting a franchise record for the most penalty yards in a game (I'll grant you a few of those pass interference calls were shoddy but really the Patriots had most of their yellow flags coming to them.)

To be fair, the Colts made the Patriots play this type of game. It is clear that both teams are much better than last year which is astounding when contemplated. They are both so far ahead of other teams that it is has become a bother for fans of the Colts and Pats to watch a game when other teams involved. How can you keep your interest with the Cowboys and Eagles? Wake me up when the AFC Championship Game is being played.

Someday this great run will come to an end and we will be able to compartmentalize all of the amazing wins and put them into some type of numerical best-of-the-best order. This one we saw on Sunday will be in the top five regular seasons victories for sure and maybe even take the cake. Sure there was the induced safety at Mile High on Monday night a few years ago. The Troy Brown touchdown bomb in overtime in Miami that made Bill Belichick throw his headset into the air like Mary Tyler Moore. The goal line stop in Indy is another one. I'm sure I'm missing a few.

But as I explained to my friend Dave from Québec as we drove around Lac Megantic this past summer why the Pats have been so successful over the years, I said that besides great coaching the main reason they keep winning is that when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter, no team rises to the occasion like the Patriots. With nine minutes remaining in the game, Brady resorted back to his all-world self. Welker suddenly got open for critical third downs. Moss became a deep threat again. And if I had a nickel for every time the defense-in this case Jarvis Green and Rosevelt Colvin-made a game changing play to seal the deal….well, I'd be able to buy a pretty nice plate of seafood from Conte's in Rockland, Maine.

It may get lost in the post-victory euphoria, but a case could be made that the Patriots won this game in the first half. Follow me for a minute on this one. The Colts had three long drives in the first half but came away with only six points. If one or two of those drives was a touchdown drive instead of a field goal outcome, the Patriots would have been playing catch-up all afternoon and wouldn't have been able to dig themselves out of that hole in the fourth quarter.

A Patriots loss would have been devastating. Their entire offseason was centered around this game with the Colts and the inevitable showdown for the AFC Championship in January. Moss, Welker, Stallworth and Adalius Thomas were all brought in for Sunday's game. The idea was to create individual matchup advantages that favored the Patriots. Mission accomplished. A loss going into the bye week would have let the demon of self-doubt set up a store at Patriot Place for the rest of the season. It would have justified the Boy Scout reputation of the Colts and put the evil Patriots in their place. Now, the Patriots have a two-game advantage for home field in the playoffs and the road is plowed as clear for a run at 16-0 immortality.

Being hated never felt so right.

Idle Zinger thoughts while questioning the platonic nature of the relationship between Wendy and Bob The Builder:

If you haven't seen this clip that makes the Cal lateral play look like a simple screen, http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3083220 and your draw will drop.

You can get a pretty good deal on a Damon Huard jersey in Kansas City if you are after one right now.

While you haven't been looking, that San Francisco first round pick that the Patriots hold is turning into a top ten pick.

It is still idiotic to put a guy back in the end zone on a long field goal attempt with the hopes he can run it back 109 yards. How about rushing another blocker and trying to get good field position after a failed attempt?

Picked up piece from the MLB playoffs: For the 8,563 time, I DON'T WANT ANY &#@*!% CHILI ON MY NACHOS DEL GRANDE!!!

Give Wayfarer the benefit of the doubt.