17 Wasn't Enough

It couldn't be a better Christmas. The Patriots demolished the Jets on Christmas Eve, we got out to see "Rogue One" (and we followed that up by watching "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" when we got home) and the kids will be over for Christmas dinner later today. As a young man I never really thought of myself as the paterfamilias but I'm really looking forward to figuring out how to fit all those chairs around the table, not to mention all that food on the table. The turkey's in the oven and I'm working on my fourth mimosa. Good times? Good times.

So, if the Patriots travel to Miami next Sunday and end the Dolphins' three-game winning streak (they've won 9 of their last 10 in case you hadn't heard), will pigskin pundits and bobbleheads simply shrug off New England's seven-game winning streak?

Patriots win.

Again.

Meh.

Yes, the Jets are terrible. Actually the Jets are whatever is worse than terrible. An abomination? That seems closer to the truth. Hideous? Deplorable? I'm searching for something truly Biblical in its proportions. Unspeakable? Maybe abomination was right in the first place. Best not to overthink these things. The Patriots were 17 point favorites against the Jets and that was supposed to be enough to entice pathological risk takers into betting on the NYJ to cover.

That didn't happen, of course. The Jets didn't even cover in the 1st half. Down 41-0 halfway through the 4th quarter, the Jets opted for a field goal attempt to avoid the shutout, as if that would be some consolation. If I were Todd Bowles, I would've dialed up a quarterback draw, hoping to kill Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think Jets fans would've gotten a lot more satisfaction from that.

Maybe the Patriots aren't that good. Hey, I'm okay with the gridiron cognoscenti dismissing the Patriots 13-2-0 record as merely circumstantial evidence. I'm absolutely okay with that. The Patriots have thrived on low expectations during the Belichick era.

They've also thrived playing in Gillette.

The Raiders may have suffered a devastating blow to their Super Bowl hopes in Derek Carr's fractured fibula but that #1 seed and home field throughout the playoffs will still need to be settled on the playing field next week. For the Patriots, the only way to look at Week 17 is that there's still work to be done.

We're on to Miami.