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Perfect Pats Rest, Then Move On

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By HOWARD ULMAN, The Associated Press

Published: December 31, 2007

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Now what?

What's next for the Patriots now that the preliminaries, as perfect as they were, are over?

Four days off to savor their feats and soothe their aches. A New Year's Eve toast to a 2008 that's as good as 2007. Then back to reality - the meeting rooms and practice field presided over by demanding Bill Belichick.

They may have been unbeaten in the regular season, but that's history.

In the playoffs, the Patriots are winless.

"The next time we step on the field we'll be zero-and-zero in the second season," Belichick said Sunday, "so we've got still a lot to look forward to."

The Patriots arrived back home at 3:30 a.m. with a 16-0 record and a break from practice until Thursday.

It would have been 15-1 if Tom Brady hadn't pulled off his fourth fourth-quarter comeback of the season to beat the New York Giants 38-35 on Saturday night.

New England joined the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears as the only teams to finish a regular season undefeated. Only Miami, though, also made it through the playoffs without a loss.

So the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season could go 0-1 in the playoffs.

The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years and were labeled by many as a dynasty. But in the next season, 2005, they missed a berth in the AFC title game by losing at Denver. Then their 2006 season ended with a loss at Indianapolis in the conference championship game after they blew an 18-point lead.

"We've been there before," Belichick said in a conference call. "Lose and go home. Win and keep playing. It's all one-game seasons now."

Brady, who broke Peyton Manning's single-season record with his 49th and 50th scoring passes Saturday, may not throw another. Randy Moss, who caught both to break Jerry Rice's record with his 22nd and 23rd touchdown receptions, may draw triple coverage in the next game.
Stranger things have happened in the playoffs. The 1934 Bears led the NFL title game 10-3 at halftime on a slippery field but lost 30-13 after the Giants switched to sneakers at intermission.

"It's a relief that we played the regular season and it's finished," Brady said. "Now we get ready for what we've been preparing for all season. The week off is extremely important for us to rest and a little bit of pressure is relieved for this week. Coach will turn up the pressure Thursday when we go back."

That will intensify after next weekend's wild-card round when the Patriots find out who they'll play after their bye week. They have homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

"Every team that has made the playoffs has a legitimate chance to be a world champion," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "So we have to forget about this and move on to who is next."

That opponent may be very familiar. The Patriots already have beaten the other three AFC division winners.

They pounded San Diego 38-14 in their second game, edged Indianapolis 24-20 in their ninth game and beat Pittsburgh 34-13 in their 13th game.

The Chargers, 1-3 through four games, got much better after that. The Colts were 6-1 in their seven games after the loss.

"We played San Diego a long time ago," Belichick said. "The Colt game, that was in the middle of the season as well. So we know those two teams, and Pittsburgh, which was the most recent of our games. We'll wait and see how things shake out Sunday and what the seedings are and then take a look at what potentially could be our next game."

•An average of 34.5 million viewers watched the game, the largest audience for an NFL non-playoff game in more than 12 years. It was the most since 35.7 million watched the Chiefs face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving 1995.

•Three people remained hospitalized Sunday after being injured when an escalator malfunctioned after the game.

The escalator at Gate A apparently failed at the bottom steps, state police Lt. Jim Crann said. The escalator runs from the stadium's upper tier to the ground level, and Crann said it appeared that some bottom steps became bent, causing some fans to sustain foot and leg injuries.

Seven people were injured, two of the seven were treated at the stadium, and five were taken to a local hospital.

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