The unfortunate fact of the current parity is any team could suprise them. I suppose there might be a couple of "No ways" onthe schedule, but if Miami can crush St. Louis like they did, anything seems possible. They couldn't take the '72 Dolphins, but I bet Bill would make it interesting. And I'm so hoping they keep the streak just because they'll have to be more gracious than the '72 Dolphins members.
It's hard to compare eras, and the NE team has changed from last year to this year over the course of the streak, and I don't know how they'd match-up player-for-player, but that's not going to stop me from throwing out numbers... Of the 14 regular season games Miami won in the '72 season, only 5 games were against teams that finished with .500 records or better (NYJ 7-7 x2, Min 7-7, KC 8-6, NYG 8-6) and none were against teams that would end up in the playoffs. Last season, starting the streak, the Pats beat 6 teams that would end up with winning records and 4 of those went to the playoffs. In 2004, extending the streak, 3 of their 6 wins are against .500 or better teams (and I'll predict two of them, Indy and the Jets will go to the playoffs). Any team could break the streak. Pit, StL, and NYJ are certainly good candidates. My goofball theory is that Bellichick keeps the game close to keep the wins from going to the players' heads. Any game is winable and any game is loseable. Of course, it's ridiculous to say he's intentionally holding them back to keep them humble, but it certainly is working out that way. How big will week 15 be (Mon night against Miami) if the streak is still going?
They should win the rest of their games at home, with Baltimore being the biggest challenge, and Buffalo, Cincinnati, and San Francisco being pretty easy wins. Most of the rest of their games are on the road, though, and Pittsburgh, Kansas City (depending on which Chiefs team shows up), Miami, and the Jets all giving them tough games. Plus, it depends on injuries. I don't think they'll finish the season undefeated.
I am not worrying about the Pats or the streak. Its a great thing for football. However, I will only applauded the Pats if they clear the table and Win the Super Bowl. I really dont thnk that is possible. They are going to get beat sooner or later. They are winning alot of games by very small margins. At this point, I think its going to be the most unlikely team that stops the streak. And Yes Miami does come to mind.
My dream is that the Bills pull out a last-second, hail-mary, hook-n-ladder, 6-lateral touchdown to break the streak in Game 9, and Bledsoe finally gets some redemption... Or even better yet: last-play-of-the-game kick-off return for a touchdown by the Dolphins to steal the victory from under their noses in Game 14 (which would tie the '72 Dolphin record for wins from the start of the season).
Though the Pats win with small margins, I think it's because they play 10% better than their opponent, no more, no less. They're definitely not dominant and if their streak is broken it will be because one of those lucky bounces finally goes the wrong way.
As of last night, I think I'll go with Cincy as the spoiler.
Isn't there a website that can compare teams from this era to teams from other eras? Not that it would be accurate or anything, but I'd enjoy hearing about the results (just like I enjoy the X-box predictions).
whatifsports.com they don't have this year's football season though.
That'll be the end of the Pats' run then. Missing Corey Dillon and Lawyer Milloy the Pats mustered just four yards rushing and allowed the Steelers out to a 21-3 first quarter lead and a final score of 34-20 in favour of the uni-logos.
