A Writer's March ~ The Monday Analysis 18 October 2004

A late week edition with some quick hits. And the Patriots have extended their win streak into another decade...

Some of the pundits (yes, including me) have Seattle picked to lose to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX. Well, after Sunday's 30-20 loss at the Razor, I would have to say that losing two straight won't help Seattle one bit in January.

Corey Dillon led the charge with 105 yards and 2 TDs to give Seattle their second straight loss. The Patriots led right away in this game, going into the locker room at halftime with a 20-6 lead. Tom Brady tossed his only touchdown of the afternoon in the second quarter, a 6 yard pass to David Patten. He also threw one interception to settle his quarterback rating to 84.5 on the afternoon. On the other side, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck went 27-50 for 349 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs for a 59.5 rating. He was picked by Ty Law and Willie McGinest, who ran it for 27 yards before being stopped.

Trash talk fueled the week leading to the game with Seattle receiver Darrell Jackson saying the Patriots were "beatable." Patriot Super Safety Rodney Harrison shed no tears after the game.

Seattle tried to comeback late in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points, but the Patriots defense stopped them for their 20th straight win.

"We don't have a bunch of clowns in here," Harrison said. "We have good, quality people. It's a tough locker room if you're a prima donna. There's not one guy who singles himself out as being better or different than anyone else."

The Patriots host the New Jersey Jets next week for an AFC East battle of the undefeateds.

The Monday Analysis POWER Rankings

1. New England (5-0). This week 20, next week a chance to kill New Jersey's undefeated record, too.

2. Philadelphia (5-0). Dominating in the NFC.

3. NJ Jets (5-0). They had a rough time beat San Francisco this week. Wait until they have to visit New England.

4. Indy (4-1). Peyton and Co. are still a high-flying machine.

5. NJ Giants (4-1). Tom Coughlin has berated and fined his team into winning.

6. Atlanta (5-1). Is it the Defense or Mike Vick or both?

7. Pittsburgh (5-1). Ben Roethlisberger keeps playing like a guy who has been here a while.

8. Denver (5-1). All of a sudden, wham! Denver is in it.

9. St. Louis (4-2). Sole lead in the NFC West could stay with the competition falling.

10. Jacksonville (4-2). Beating the Chiefs is just what the Jags needed to do to do anything this season.

11. Seattle (3-1). Losing in overtime at home against the Rams shows that the ‘Hawks are not the solid team they need to be to stay dominant down the stretch.

12. Baltimore (3-2). Brian Billick’s Ravens are staying strong when they need to.