New England Patriots - "Three Games to Immortality"

The media built it up as equal to climbing Mount Everest. The league made it seem like they were allowing us all the privilege to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon (brought to you by NFL Network, of course!) But to the Patriots faithful, the final regular season game of the 2007 represented little more than just another notch on our belt.

Don't get me wrong, I raised my fists in the air an smiled when the final seconds ticked off the clock on Saturday night, but not much more than I did after win number one or win number fifteen. It certainly felt good to know that my favorite team had posted the best regular season record in NFL history, but I never lost sight of the fact that it's post-season perfection that really matters. For all the hype and hyperbole disingenuously spewed by the same mouths who questioned the validity of our dynasty four months ago, the fact remains that the New England Patriots could be a mere game away from finishing 16-1.

That's a record nobody in the Patriots locker room ever wants to see beside this team's name. That's a record that will render everything that this team has accomplished this season moot. It's a record that will turn this team into a footnote in the annals of the NFL, instead of its crown jewel. It's a record that will mark their place in history alongside the 2004 Indianapolis Colts who represent everything this franchise was not. And it's a record that the Patriots will undoubtedly have, if they fail to meet the challenge of the very good football team that will roll into Foxboro next weekend.

For all the records set and accolades achieved this year, the New England Patriots are just as vulnerable as the 9-7 Redskins whom they beat by 45 points in Week 8. If they hope to make it to 17-0, that's a fact they had better not forget. Thankfully the "one game at a time" mindset, instilled by Bill Belichick, has overtaken the locker room and should all but ensure that the Patriots remember. Because if they do remain humble, focused, and ready for the task at hand, they may just claim the most prestigious position in the premiere professional sports league in America.

Like I said above, while 16-0 wasn't that special, it was still special nonetheless. However, the reason that sixteen victory was important was not because it marked a regular season record that no other team had achieved. It was important because it was the definitive moment that turned 2007 into an "all or nothing" season for the New England Patriots. You see, before win number sixteen was notched, there was still the possibility of the Patriots bringing a 15-1 into the playoffs, and then winning the Super Bowl. While that would still go down as a season for the ages, it would only serve to put them on equal footing with the '85 Bears, and leave them firmly behind the '72 Dolphins. After the Patriots took down the Giants, it was set in stone that season would not have a "mediocre" finish. At 16-0 the Patriots will either achieve perfection to set themselves apart from any team that's gone before them, or it will come full circle, ending with the same bitter mockery that it began with.

At 16-0, those are the only two possible outcomes. And there's no turning back. The Patriots battled harder, longer, and stronger than any team before them to earn this coveted opportunity. Now they must test their fates and do battle with the very fabric of time and history. It's a battle that will send them three blood hungry opponents who will play with every fiber of their being to take the Patriots down. It's a battle that will take place amongst a devastating and overwhelming media storm. It's a battle that will require the iciest of blood in the players' veins, because the untold pressure of mammoth expectations will be weighing down upon them with crushing force on each and every single down. It very well may be the most intense and difficult road to the Super Bowl any team has ever trod. And if the Patriots lose their step, they will go down harder than any other fallen giant in the biggest loss in football history.

Yet the Patriots do not flinch, they do not hesitate, and most of all, they do not doubt. It's that extraordinary level of inner fortitude which has brought them to this place. It's their hard work, their dedication, their fearlessness, and their trust in each other which leads them to believe they will weather the storm, and the pressure, and their opponent, just as they have done sixteen times before. They realize that they are a game away from that incredibly hard fall and the infamy they will never live down from finishing 16-1, and they simply don't care. Because as dark and ominous as those possibilities are, they are completely overtaken by the brightness of that nineteenth win.

Number 19 has always been the Patriots goal for this season. It was there before "spygate". It was there before Randy Moss rode into town. It was born the night the Indianapolis Colts finally pulled one over on New England in a game that really mattered. The Colts had always been defined by the stats and we, the Super Bowls. However, that line became forever blurred last February, and so the Patriots decided that it was time for them to take both. They became the highest scoring team in NFL history, thanks to Tom Brady throwing more touchdown passes and Randy Moss catching more touchdown receptions than any players in history. And as has been mentioned numerous times already, the Patriots also achieved the best regular season record, ever.

Only one piece of the puzzle remains, and it's shaped like the Lombardi Trophy. If the New England Patriots seize it, they will inarguably be known as the single greatest team that has ever stepped onto a football field. That would be an incredible achievement for any team, but could never mean more than to this group of men. No matter what they have done in years past, they have never, ever, received the credit that was due them. They were always tagged as a team that go "lucky" or somehow "found ways to win". They were always second rate when compared to the Indianapolis touchdown factory that managed to break down every January like clockwork. Every achievement always came with an excuse, or a disclaimer, or a reason why some other team was going to do better. Yet if the Patriots win out, there is absolutely no way anyone can ever utter that any team was better. The critics will have been proven wrong once and, finally, for all, the chapters of the Brady/Manning debate will be permanently closed, and all there will be for anyone to do is to stare back silently in awe of the greatest season ever, produced by the greatest team ever, in the greatest league ever.

For the New England Patriots, it's clearly "Three Games to Immortality".

Predictions Wrap-Up:

Well, turns out that I matched my worst record ever in predicting the 12 playoffs teams before the season began by going a wretched 4 for 12. Just for the ease of my own personal record keeping, here's how I've fared in the past:

2002: 8/12
2003: 7/12
2004: 4/12
2005: 6/12
2006: 6/12
2007: 4/12

I'm really kicking myself this year for breaking the "No more than 7 teams can return to the post-season" rule. Like a fool, I picked eight to return. Don't ask me why I felt that this would be the first year in NFL history that law would be broken. (The actual number this year was six, by the way) I definitely deserve this horrendous record after doing that. Just to show how off-base I was, I had mentioned in my season preview that four teams were "gimmee" picks and I only needed to go three for eight the rest of the way to get over .500. Three of those were successful calls in the Patriots, Colts, and Chargers. The Bears were the lone disappointment of the three. However, if you do the math, that means I went 3/4 in the "gimmee" picks, and a putrid 1/8 in the remaining picks. Talk about stinking up the joint!

Making picks before the season starts is always a tough thing to do. That's why I like to make a set of Week 2 predictions after we've gotten the chance to take a quick glimpse at everybody. This year some of my correct predictions were the Redskins making the playoffs, the Broncos and Texans not making the playoffs, and that's about it. The other six that I botched were the Packers and Steelers not making the playoffs, the Saints making the playoffs, the NFC West being a tight race, and the Jets just missing out on the playoffs (they were never even close!). That puts me at a pretty poor three for nine. However, I'll be more than happy to deal with my bad predictions as long as I can get the last remaining one, that has yet to be determined, to come true...

"The Patriots are going to finish 19-0!"