The New England Patriots' Remaining 2007 Schedule

There has been only one team that has made it through an entire National Football League campaign undefeated, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, but the New England Patriots may be joining them come next February. Their recent dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys, the team hyped as the best in the NFC, is all the proof I needed to come to the conclusion that the Patriots won't be beaten this season. Even though it is only Week Seven, I can make that statement with some certainty, as only the Indianapolis Colts stand in the way between them and an unblemished record. Here's a look at the New England Patriots' remaining schedule.

New England faces a woeful Dolphins' team in Miami for the seventh game of the 2007 season, and they would win this game by three touchdowns if it were played at Sea World. New England looking at the Dolphins is like peering into some sort of funhouse mirror that distorts your image, as Miami is the reverse of the Pats, an 0-6 team in danger of challenging the Buccaneers 0-16 record of the 1970s. New England will be favored by double digit points in this one, an embarrassment to the once proud Miami franchise, and the game won't even be that close.

The Redskins come to Massachusetts for Week Eight, with an offense that is in no position to challenge the high-scoring Patriots' juggernaut and a defense that will be worn down and fall apart late. Washington coach Joe Gibbs will be perhaps the only man who may be removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as his teams have been a joke since his return to the sidelines after his enshrinement. He will realize just how far behind the curve he is once Tom Brady and the Patriots are done with his inconsistent squad.

The game of the year, and for all intents and purposes for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, will be the Week Nine Sunday encounter with Peyton Manning's Colts in Indianapolis. If the Patriots win this game, which is quite likely, they will be home free unless overconfidence or a rash of injuries to key players overtakes them. New England lost two big games to the Colts last season, including the AFC Championship game and a trip to the Super Bowl after blowing a 21-3 lead, so they will need little motivation from coach Bill Belichick in the days leading up to the contest. Indianapolis has been impressive so far, but they have quite a few guys nicked up already, so the guess here is that New England will leave Indiana with a victory.

Week Ten is the Patriots' bye week, and if they are still unbeaten by then it will be bye- bye to the rest of the NFL. Everyone else might as well fold up their tents and go home. Week Eleven will have New England traveling to Buffalo for a November 18th date with the hapless Bills, who find new ways to lose each week, a club that is no match for New England on paper or on the field, especially when the Pats are coming off a week's rest. Philly goes to New England for a Sunday night affair in Week Twelve, and the Eagles will probably be ten point underdogs. Donovan McNabb is bound to have had his yearly season-ending injury by then, but even if he hasn't, Philly stands no chance.

Three of the next five games for the Patriots could be considerably tougher, starting with a journey to Baltimore to battle the Ravens to start December's contests, a Monday Night Football feature. However, Baltimore lacks the firepower to stay with New England, and their overrated defense will be picked apart by Brady and company. Three consecutive home games follow, the first by far the one to worry about most, as the Steelers are in town Sunday, December 9th. I seriously doubt though that anyone can come into Foxboro this year and beat this club, and the Patriots will put enough pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to win this game going away. That leaves the Jets and Dolphins coming to Gillette Stadium in the next two weeks.

You haven't seen a whipping put on a team until you witness what the Patriots will do to the Jets on December 16th. Eric Mangini will regret the day he squealed to the league on Belichick's videotaping Jets defensive play calling. The Jets are so bad this year that New England could tell New York what they were going to do on every play and still win by twenty, which will be the margin of victory in this tilt only if some sort of Christmas spirit invades Belichick's soul after about three quarters. He may be a bit more merciful to the poor Dolphins in Week Sixteen, as they will come in with no more than two wins. The SEC has better teams than the AFC East this year, and the Patriots will make short work of Miami, setting up quite a quandary for the New England coaching staff if they are indeed still undefeated.

That problem would be how much they play their stars in the season finale, a Saturday evening game at the Meadowlands versus the Giants, who could be fighting for a playoff spot. Would the risk of injury to a star such as Brady or Randy Moss outweigh the chance to go undefeated? The Giants are one of the few teams in the league capable of trading points with New England, if Eli Manning is having a good day, a big if I know but possible. The weather could also factor into this December 29th game, which will be held at night. If the Patriots are undefeated, I would expect them to take their shot at immortality and play everyone, as they would have two weeks until their first playoff game. And once those playoffs start, I don't see anyone coming to the Bay State and leaving with a triumph. Having seen what the Patriots did to the NFC's "best", the Super Bowl win would be an afterthought.