Patriots perfect at the midway point
If Tom Brady and the New England Patriots can get past the visiting Washington Redskins on Sunday — and the reigning Super Bowl champions are roughly two-touchdown favorites — they will get to 8-0, halfway to another perfect regular season.
And even if coach Bill Belichick and his well-programmed players can be expected to do whatever they can to avoid talking about that topic, the rest of the NFL-watching world will be focused on the pursuit of 16-0 and, eventually, 19-0.
"I don't really think it matters. I think, for us, you just want to play and be ready to go each game," Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. "I don't think we're good enough to sit here and worry about 16-0. We just got to focus on this game and try to win that one."
Given how inconsistent Washington REDSKINS AT PATRIOTS 1 p.m., Gillette Stadium (no TV)
has been — outscored overall this season by 20 points — and how consistently good New England has been — outscoring opponents 35.6 to 19, on average — There are few reasons to think the Redskins (3-4) will be the first team to stop the Patriots (7-0).
"Our mentality is: They're the best team in the NFL, and if we want to compete and show that we're worthy of being on the same field as them," Redskins Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams said, "then we're going to have to bring our 'A' game."
The last time New England won its first seven games, in 2007, it wound up completing an unbeaten regular season, then got to 18-0 before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
That year, the Patriots were coming off the scandal known as "Spygate," accused of improperly taping opponents. This time around, they're coming off the scandal known as "Deflategate," accused of improperly altering the air pressure in footballs during the AFC championship game.
Here's more to know about Sunday's game:
'Gronk' and Reed : The game features the most dynamic tight end in the league, New England's Rob Gronkowski, against an up-andcoming star at the position, Washington's Jordan Reed, the former New London High School star.
Gronkowski's 40 catches this season are tied for the most for a tight end and he has an AFC-high seven TD grabs; Reed has 35 catches despite playing in only seven games and he scored twice in his previous outing.
Gronkowski called Reed "a savvy young tight end."