FanHouse Preview: Patriots vs. Bills

During the opening week of the season, when Kansas City's Bernard Pollard rolled into the knee of Tom Brady, I, like many, just assumed that the Patriots' season was pretty much finished before it even started. I mean, they were going to be turning the keys of their high-powered offense over to Matt Cassel, a seemingly anonymous guy that had to struggle to make the team out of training camp, after spending the first three years of his NFL career -- and his entire college career -- riding the bench.

Yet, 16 weeks later, here we are and the Patriots not only have a chance to finish the season with an 11-5 record, they have a chance to make the playoffs and/or win the AFC East. Granted, they have to win, and they need some help, but it's been a season that even the most vocal Patriots haters have to be surprised by. Especially when you consider the other injuries the team suffered throughout the season. I'm talking about Rodney Harrison, Laurence Maroney and Adalius Thomas, just to name a few.

Frankly, this might be the best coaching job of Bill Belichick's career, assuming, of course, he didn't cheat. Kidding! I think.

The Patriots close out the regular season at 1 PM ET on Sunday in Buffalo, where they will be taking on a struggling Bills team that is currently on a 2-7 slide after starting the season 5-1. For the Bills, it's all about playing spoiler because misery loves company, or something.

New England gets in with:

1) A win and a Jets win (Gives New England the division)
or
2) A Jaguars win (Gives New England the wild card)

Three Key Questions:

1. Can Wes Welker haul in four passes to break his own franchise record for receptions in a season? Just don't make a snow angel to celebrate.

2. Will Marshawn Lynch play for Buffalo? If he doesn't, will Buffalo have much of a chance?

3. Will the Patriots -- if they win -- become the first team since the 1985 Broncos to miss the playoffs with an 11-5 record?

Player in the Spotlight: Matt Cassel. Throughout the season we've seen the good Cassel, and we've seen the bad Cassel. Following the good games, people have been ringing the imaginary cash register for the free-agent-to-be, or playing the idiotic and ridiculous, "hey, what if the Patriots traded Tom Brady(?!)" game. Meanwhile, the bad games have been followed by the masses screaming, "yup, that's the Matt Cassel I expected." Over the past month, we've seen the good Cassel, as he's thrown eight touchdowns to only one interception in his past three starts -- all Patriots wins. His passer rating for the month of December is currently 102.5. He didn't have a rating higher than 87.0 in any other single month this season.

New England's Path to Victory: Stop Buffalo's ground game because, well, the Bills haven't been able to throw the ball much of the season. J.P. Losman has been awful this year, while Trent Edwards struggled a week ago against Denver in his return to the starting lineup. Make sure the good Cassel shows up.

Buffalo's Path to Victory: The Bills will need a healthy Marshawn Lynch. After a slow start to the season, the bruising second-year tailback has been much, much better during the second half of the season, picking up all three of his 100-yard games in the past six weeks. Hope the bad Cassel shows up for New England.

Prediction: New England 28, Buffalo 9