Winning 16 would be sweet, but Pats' season already perfect
INDIANAPOLIS -- I don't know if the New England Patriots win all their regular-season games, and, frankly, I don't care. Because they won the only game they absolutely, positively, had to win.
That would be their come-from-behind 24-20 defeat of defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis, a victory that makes the Patriots 9-0.
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| New England seizes the edge in the quest for home-field advantage. (Getty Images) |
"We're 9-0, and it doesn't really matter," said quarterback Tom Brady. "What matters is January, and I think we took a great step for games down the road. Nine-and-oh? Hey, I'm happy as anyone about it. But it doesn't mean anything."
Well, it means the next time the Patriots meet the Colts they almost surely meet them in Foxborough, and, as I said, that's a big deal. Under coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots faced Indianapolis twice at home in the playoffs and won both -- one 24-14, the other 20-3.
I mention the Colts because there is no one close to these two this season. There is New England. There is Indianapolis. And then there is everybody else.
So what counts is where they next meet, and where they next meet, in all likelihood, will be the Colts' worst nightmare. Not just because they haven't won a conference championship game outside, but because no dome team has.
Do the math. Indoor clubs are 0-11 outdoors in championship games. Which is why Sunday's victory was big for New England and devastating for the Colts. And if you don't believe it, you're weren't watching Belichick.
Immediately after Brady completed a game-clinching first-down pass to Wes Welker with two minutes to go, the normally taciturn Belichick threw his hands up in the air, removed his headset and walked on to the field to pat his quarterback on the back.
"I was happy to win," said Belichick. "We worked hard, and when you come back the way you want to, you're happy about it."
He should be. Because Sunday's victory proved the Patriots can overcome adversity. It proved they're capable of winning when not bringing their A game, too. Plus, it proved they can win when they commit a slew of stupid penalties.
Most of all, it proved they can beat their arch nemesis, Indianapolis, a club that conquered them the last three times they met.
"I don't know what happens from here," said linebacker Junior Seau, "but I can promise you this: When we take care of what we need to take care of, nothing else matters."
