The Patriots are not invincible


Something that tends to happen in this town is that everyone overreacts to the losses, and they overreact to the wins.

Also, if you ever say anything virtually negative about a team, you're crucified. Especially if they're coming off a big win.

So here I go doing just that. The Patriots are not unstoppable.

We've seen several examples just this year where this dominant Patriots offense has not looked so dominant. In losses to both the Cardinals and Seahawks, the Patriots did not exactly look like the immovable force that has taken the field at times recently.

Somehow it's easy to forget now, but the Miami Dolphins did a pretty good job of containing the Patriots just two weeks ago. Even in the Texans game the Patriots had a good deal of trouble moving the ball after their first three drives, which of course all produced touchdowns.

Is the Patriots offense great? Of course. There's no disputing that. The best in the NFL? Definitely. But is it unstoppable? No chance in hell.

This brings us back to San Francisco and the game coming up on Sunday night. After getting blown out by the New York Giants and shut down by the St. Louis Rams twice, some fans are overlooking this 49ers team.

I definitely expect the Patriots to beat San Francisco, don't get me wrong. They could even blow them out like they've just done to the Texans. However, let's not start talking like that's a guarantee. This is the best defense in the NFL. The last time Brady faced a top three defense (Seattle) it didn't work out as well as planned.

Oh yeah and the last time Aldon Smith faced Nate Solder? He had three sacks.

The 49ers give up just 14.2 points per game (best in the NFL), while the Patriots score
36.3 (also best in the league). It'll once again be a clash of the titans of sorts, but by no means should it be a cakewalk.