Patriots running back Stevan Ridley has his helmet twisted off
by a San Francisco defender during Sunday night s costly loss in
Foxboro.  That sloppy loss to San Francisco Sunday night in
Foxboro really, really hurt.  The 41-34 defeat most likely means
the Patriots will have to make it back to New Orleans the hard
way.  That means three AFC playoff games instead of two. That
means playing in the "wild card" game on the weekend of Jan. 5-6
instead of sitting back and resting all those aches and pains.
New England is at 10-4, and although all four games it lost were
close enough to win, the record "is what it is" in the immortal
words of Bill Belichick.  Houston is in the driver's seat for a
coveted first-round bye. The Texans stand at 12-2 with games
against the Vikings and Colts remaining.  Catching Houston may
actually be New England's best hope for a bye. The Pats are
likely to end up 12-4, with games left against the Jaguars and
Dolphins, while the Texans could easily lose both of their
remaining games an