Up next, Denver...

Looks like the Pats will be heading to Denver to face the Broncos after Cincy got their asses handed to them today by Pittsburgh. Of course, it did not help much that Cincy lost their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, in like the 3rd play of the game.

Still, things looked promising for Cincy early and they managed gain a pretty good lead at one point in the game. Unfortunately, things fell apart eventually and it seemed like every time I popped my head into the living room to check on the game, Cincy backup QB John Kitna was either fumbling the ball, dropping the ball or just plain throwing the ball away while running for his life.

It's too bad this happened to Cincy. That has got to suck. Your team is finally in the playoffs again after suffering for 15 years in the Football Phantom Zone, and within the 1st five min of the game, your starting QB is being carted off the field with a torn up knee. Damn. I feel for ya Cincy.

For the Pats, it's now 3 Games to Glory. This Denver game will be a very difficult match-up for The Pats. The last time we played them, they ran up a big score on several long plays down the middle of the field. Despite being down by a large margin, The Pats went on a comeback run and nearly stole another game in Denver, but came up just short, losing 28-20.

That was then, this is now.

The Pats have eliminated the problem of giving up big passing plays and are stout against the run once again. Our secondary is still our biggest weakness, but I am much less concerned about them going up against Jake Plummer than I would be about facing Peyton Manning. Our secondary is gelling and is battle tested now. The communication back there has improved tremendously and although they got burned a few times against Jacksonville, the Pats CB's and Safeties held their ground and laid out some killer hits along the way.

Personally, I would have preferred to face Indy next week, but if we have to go to Denver, so be it. It's a situation where you have to pick your poison. Neither road would have been easy. That being said, I like The Pats chances against Denver.

GO PATS