Week 13: New England at Baltimore

After looking like they lived on a different planet for most of the past three months, New England actually looked vulnerable Sunday night. Philadelphia led 28-24 in the fourth quarter and gave the remainder of New England’s schedule a blueprint to help from feeling quite so victimized. You blitz Tom Brady constantly, because with time he will kill you. You challenge the Patriots’ secondary, because you can get some wins there. You roll all your coverage to Randy Moss – it is possible to take him out of a game for long stretches if you devote enough resources to it.

So expect Baltimore to do a lot of the same things this week, although let’s not get carried away. The Patriots won that game anyway, 31-28 — Asante Samuel’s two interceptions saved the Patriots this time.

The Patriots are still averaging 40.2 points per game. They still are gunning for the No. 1 spot on the all-time NFL chart, which a 19-0 record and all these blowout wins would certainly do it for them.

By making the playoffs already, the Patriots are now guaranteed to lose their first-round draft choice for 2008 as punishment for using a video camera to spy on opposing coaches on the sideline. That’s what puts a taint on this otherwise unblemished season. Coach Bill Belichick, who has seemed to get even meaner and snarlier as the season has worn on, is warning his team constantly that they must take every team very seriously. All of them are potential minefields.

The Ravens? It’s hard to see the potential of an upset there. Oddsmakers favor the Patriots by about 20 points for good reason. Baltimore has lost five straight games — the franchise’s longest losing streak ever.

The Ravens will continue with Kyle Boller at QB. Steve McNair hasn’t recovered from the dislocation of his non-throwing shoulder, and it’s possible McNair won’t be ready to play the entire rest of the season. So the Ravens will keep on doing what they are doing, which isn’t working out that well. It would help if Boller would get WR Mark Clayton more involved — he has hardly touched the ball lately.

The Ravens, who know they are out of the AFC playoff race, are treating this game like it is their Super Bowl. They would need some breaks to stay with New England, but it’s conceivable. And even if they don’t stick around, the Patriots are such a talented soap opera that they are worth prime time all by themselves.

New England by 18