NFL: Pats chase history
“Spygate” seems long ago for the New England Patriots. They return to Giants Stadium, trying to finish their pursuit of perfection and a place in NFL history.
The Patriots play the New York Giants (10-5) tonight, three months after Bill Belichick and the three-time Super Bowl champions were put under a cloud of suspicion for videotaping an opponent’s signals.
The focal point of the cameras this week will be the Patriots’ bid to become the first team to win all 16 regular-season games.
“We’ve got a lot of records at stake, the most important one being the 16-0,” quarterback Tom Brady said.
The last team to go undefeated was the Miami Dolphins in 1972, when they won all 14 regular-season games en route to a 17-0 mark and a Super Bowl crown.
The Patriots’ historic run created so much interest that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yielded this week and gave CBS and NBC permission to simulcast the game, which originally was to be shown only on the NFL Network.
In September, Goodell made a different sort of ruling regarding the Patriots. He fined the team $250,000, Belichick $500,000 and took away a first-round draft pick for videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive signals in the season opener at Giants Stadium.
Despite being under a microscope since the cheating scandal, the Patriots have been unstoppable in reeling off 15 wins.
Brady is two touchdown passes shy of breaking Peyton Manning’s season mark of 49 set in 2004. Randy Moss needs one TD catch to tie Jerry Rice’s season record of 22.
New England, which has not scored fewer than 20 points in any game, needs just six to break the Minnesota Vikings’ record of 556 set in 1998. The Patriots have outscored opponents this season by a record 312 points.
“The good thing about those records is all those didn’t come against us,” Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said.
“We are going to go out there and do our job like we normally try to do and stop them on defense, score points on offense, and try to win the game overall.”
Around the league
Two-time Pro Bowler Bob Sanders agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Indianapolis Colts worth $37.5 million, making him one of the league’s highest-paid safeties. … Denver Broncos co-captain Rod Smith, 37, revealed that his surgically repaired left hip hurts more than ever and that a specialist in Los Angeles will resurface or replace the joint in January, likely meaning the wide receiver has caught his last pass in the NFL. … The NFL has fined official Jim Quirk one game check for inappropriate physical contact with players. The decision came after Quirk grabbed Green Bay linebacker Nick Barnett by the neck and threw him to the ground while breaking up a scuffle in Chicago. … Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison will likely start Sunday night against Tennessee after practicing a second day in a return from a left knee injury. … Reggie Bush is out for New Orleans’ game Sunday at Chicago with a partial tear of the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. … Chris Weinke will be San Francisco fourth starting quarterback this season when he replaces the injured Shaun Hill at Cleveland on Sunday. … The NFL fined Houston defensive tackle Travis Johnson $5,000 for a late hit on Colts tight end Bryan Fletcher during Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis. … Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens was listed as questionable for New York’s game against Kansas City with a rib injury.