NE @ CIN

[Spider-Dan]

The end of that game was sad.  It felt like the early '00s all over again: NE plays bad enough to lose, but their opponent just wants the loss more and snatches defeat from the jaws of victory with a bunch of bonehead mistakes.  And this was textbook.

Trying to run out the clock?  Why not cough up an easy fumble?
4th and 5 for NE (in a loud, hostile stadium where hard count won't work)?  DB needlessly runs offsides.
Throwaway up-the-gut run play on 2nd-and-10 after a string of incompletions?  Drags four indifferent CIN defenders 7 yards for a first.
More incompletions during a torrential rainstorm?  Slap Brady on the helmet and give them another free first.

Fortunately, the football gods made their wish known:  Brady May Not Break Brees' TD record.  That was one of the great instant monsoons I've ever seen.  Without that rainstorm, CIN not only would have given up a TD to tie, NE would have easily went down the field and scored a GW FG.

[dolphins4life]

They have had three such games in the last three weeks.

Teams just crumble in the last few minutes against them.

They make me puke.

What's worse is, I have to read all my Pats fan friends facebook statuses