Kevin McNamara: With win, Pats guarantee they'll be home for more than Christmas

Sunday
Dec 24, 2017 at 8:10 PM

Kevin McNamara Journal Sports Writer kevinmcnamara33

FOXBORO – Much to the delight of their fans, the New England Patriots have something in common with the late, great Bing Crosby this holiday season.

Crosby once famously crooned “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me,” and the tune fits the Patriots perfectly.

The Pats were home for the holiday Sunday and will be opening presents with their families on Christmas morning in the comfort of a hard-fought 37-16 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The better news is the Patriots won’t just be home for Christmas. If they play their cards right, their fans can plan on remaining in Foxboro for the next month as the team makes yet another run at a Super Bowl berth.

After improving to 12-3 and sending a poison pill loss to the Buffalo Bills' (8-7) playoff hopes, the Patriots will look towards wrapping up the regular season by beating the hapless New York Jets next Sunday. Put that one in the satchel and the Patriots are assured home field throughout the AFC playoffs and will welcome the prospect of playing two post-season games in Foxboro.

If all goes according to plan, the Pats won’t collectively board a plane again until they know who they’ll be facing in the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.

Not a bad plan.

“I'm proud of the way the players responded at halftime and overall in approaching the game," said coach Bill Belichick. "It's good to have 12 wins. Hopefully we can get another one next week."

This latest win wasn’t easy but at this point the rest of the NFL has to hate the defending champs. For the second straight week an opponent had an important touchdown wiped off the board after an official’s review. A week ago Pittsburgh’s Jesse James didn’t “survive the ground” after crossing the goal line with an apparent go-ahead TD.

On Sunday Buffalo’s Kelvin Benjamin made what was at first ruled a TD on a gorgeous catch in the back corner of the end zone. Then, after microscopically dissecting the distance between Benjamin’s second cleat and a few blades of artificial turf, the call was overturned.

Referee Craig Wrolstad said the call was flipped because “it was determined clearly that he was not able to get his second foot down after he had control.”

The call instantly set fire to social media, first with Patriot haters and then even impartial observers weighing in. Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira, two former NFL vice presidents for officiating, both agreed the league’s new system is “overly technical,” and made an error in this instance.

''Nothing more irritating to an official than to make a great call and then someone in a suit in an office in New York incorrectly reverses it. It is more and more obvious that there isn't a standard for staying with the call on the field,” Pereira tweeted.

The call seemed to take the wind out of the Bills’ sails. While the visitors showed some fire to take a 16-13 lead early in the third quarter, the back-and-forth scoring in the game came to an end. Riding a superb effort from Dion Lewis (24 carries, 129 yards, 196 all-purpose yards), the Pats hung up 24 second half points to roll to the win.

The Patriots torment the Bills more than any other opponent. They’ve now won 31 of the last 36 meetings with their AFC East brothers. Next up are the Jets who sunk to 5-10 with another loss Sunday and are counting the days to the off-season right about now.

Like all NFL teams, the Patriots have some issues. Atop the list is what is almost always the deciding factor come playoff time: injuries. The Pats lined up Sunday with a collection of skill players that was far from imposing. Mike Gilleslee saw his first action in nearly two months with James White (ankle) and Rex Burkhead (knee) out. Receiver Chris Hogan (shoulder) and important defenders Kyle Van Noy (calf) and Alan Branch (knee) also were unable to post.

Those players should have a full three weeks to regain their footing before the Patriots open the playoffs Jan. 13-14. Until then the Pats are in the enviable position of winning while playing far from perfectly. Maybe that’s just the story of this team, a group that already owns 12 wins and is fast-breaking to 13.

It all makes for a pretty nice Christmas.

Sunday
Dec 24, 2017 at 8:10 PM

Kevin McNamara Journal Sports Writer kevinmcnamara33

FOXBORO – Much to the delight of their fans, the New England Patriots have something in common with the late, great Bing Crosby this holiday season.

Crosby once famously crooned “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me,” and the tune fits the Patriots perfectly.

The Pats were home for the holiday Sunday and will be opening presents with their families on Christmas morning in the comfort of a hard-fought 37-16 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The better news is the Patriots won’t just be home for Christmas. If they play their cards right, their fans can plan on remaining in Foxboro for the next month as the team makes yet another run at a Super Bowl berth.

After improving to 12-3 and sending a poison pill loss to the Buffalo Bills' (8-7) playoff hopes, the Patriots will look towards wrapping up the regular season by beating the hapless New York Jets next Sunday. Put that one in the satchel and the Patriots are assured home field throughout the AFC playoffs and will welcome the prospect of playing two post-season games in Foxboro.

If all goes according to plan, the Pats won’t collectively board a plane again until they know who they’ll be facing in the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.

Not a bad plan.

“I'm proud of the way the players responded at halftime and overall in approaching the game," said coach Bill Belichick. "It's good to have 12 wins. Hopefully we can get another one next week."

This latest win wasn’t easy but at this point the rest of the NFL has to hate the defending champs. For the second straight week an opponent had an important touchdown wiped off the board after an official’s review. A week ago Pittsburgh’s Jesse James didn’t “survive the ground” after crossing the goal line with an apparent go-ahead TD.

On Sunday Buffalo’s Kelvin Benjamin made what was at first ruled a TD on a gorgeous catch in the back corner of the end zone. Then, after microscopically dissecting the distance between Benjamin’s second cleat and a few blades of artificial turf, the call was overturned.

Referee Craig Wrolstad said the call was flipped because “it was determined clearly that he was not able to get his second foot down after he had control.”

The call instantly set fire to social media, first with Patriot haters and then even impartial observers weighing in. Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira, two former NFL vice presidents for officiating, both agreed the league’s new system is “overly technical,” and made an error in this instance.

''Nothing more irritating to an official than to make a great call and then someone in a suit in an office in New York incorrectly reverses it. It is more and more obvious that there isn't a standard for staying with the call on the field,” Pereira tweeted.

The call seemed to take the wind out of the Bills’ sails. While the visitors showed some fire to take a 16-13 lead early in the third quarter, the back-and-forth scoring in the game came to an end. Riding a superb effort from Dion Lewis (24 carries, 129 yards, 196 all-purpose yards), the Pats hung up 24 second half points to roll to the win.

The Patriots torment the Bills more than any other opponent. They’ve now won 31 of the last 36 meetings with their AFC East brothers. Next up are the Jets who sunk to 5-10 with another loss Sunday and are counting the days to the off-season right about now.

Like all NFL teams, the Patriots have some issues. Atop the list is what is almost always the deciding factor come playoff time: injuries. The Pats lined up Sunday with a collection of skill players that was far from imposing. Mike Gilleslee saw his first action in nearly two months with James White (ankle) and Rex Burkhead (knee) out. Receiver Chris Hogan (shoulder) and important defenders Kyle Van Noy (calf) and Alan Branch (knee) also were unable to post.

Those players should have a full three weeks to regain their footing before the Patriots open the playoffs Jan. 13-14. Until then the Pats are in the enviable position of winning while playing far from perfectly. Maybe that’s just the story of this team, a group that already owns 12 wins and is fast-breaking to 13.

It all makes for a pretty nice Christmas.

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