Call it reversal of fortune, call it what comes around, goes around, call it what you want. But when you call it, call it the Year of the Patriots.

But with a season ending score of 31-0 over the Buffalo Bills - a complete mirror image of Week 1 - the Patriots are the number one seed in the AFC, giving them the opportunity for a divisional playoff game at home, and should they win, the AFC Championship at home as well. These will be the first playoff games played in Gillette Stadium. The Razor opened to the Patriots last season, but the Pats missed the playoffs with a complicated tie breaker.

"The irony is we beat them 31-0 and . . . boom . . . there it is, 31-0," former Patriot safety Lawyer Milloy said. "It was kind of crazy."

"You get beat, 31-0, that means they really started the season the way they wanted to," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said, who went 21-32 with 204 yards and 4 TDs (to Daniel Graham, David Givens, Troy Brown and Bethel Johnson). "Fifteen weeks later, this proves we are a different team. This was one of our best games of the season, and it was a good time to do it. We all knew about the first week, and we didn't have to dig deep to find those emotions."

And durable. Brady was hit by Milloy at one point in the game and looked like Brady's leg was certainly broken. He limped off the field, then was standing around on it, and then he was playing again and driving towards TD No. 4. Amazing!

"It was a blitz and I got upended," said Milloy, one of Brady's close friends. "I wasn't trying to hurt him."

At the end, after Brady's great play and Drew Bledsoe's horrible day, Buffalo tried to clear out the goose egg with a touchdown pass to the endzone by backup Travis Brown. But that was intercepted by special team linebacker Larry Izzo who was getting extra playing time.

"This team wanted to keep that zero on the board," Izzo said. "It was just a hard-sell play action and I was able not to bite up on it."

And that was that. The Bills traveled back home to clean their lockers and await the fate of head coach Greg Williams, who with most of the coaching staff will likely be fired. As for the Patriots, they have a week off before preparing for a divisional playoff game against a team to be named later (it will be the lowest seed who survives the Wild Card weekend, likely not number two seeded Kansas City or the third seed from the AFC South).

As William Shakespeare once wrote: Alls well that ends well.

And all is well in Foxboro today.

Dick Jauron was fired from Chicago today...Dave Wandstedt received a two-year extension in Miami instead of walking papers...The Giants have asked permission to interview Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis...Dave McGinnis is expected to be fired from Arizona...Bill Callahan's fate in Oakland is also supposed to be determined this week...Atlanta had requested permission from San Francisco to speak with Jim Mora, Jr....Gregg Williams is expected to be fired from the Bills on Tuesday, however Buffalo will be keeping quarterback Drew Bledsoe...Fired Giants coach Jim Fassel is rumored to be of interest in Buffalo and Arizona.

No Vacancies have been filled.

PATRIOTS (14-2) 31, Bills (6-10) 0 - FINAL: The Reversal of Fortune game. Pats win.

Seahawks (10-6) 24, 49ERS (7-9) 17 - FINAL: The 49ers just missed coming back and tying this one up, but Seattle proved to be too much for them.

Eagles (12-4) 31, REDSKINS (5-11) 7 - FINAL: Steve Spurrier coached teams suck. Andy Reid rocks!

Colts (12-4) 20, TEXANS (5-11) 17 - FINAL: Houston nearly upset this one, but the resilient Colts came back for a 17-0 second half to clinch the AFC South.

Browns (5-11) 22, BENGALS (8-8) 14 - FINAL: Cinci is upset in the Battle for O-HI-O. Look for Carson Palmer to move this team forward next season. Good job, Marvin Lewis.

FALCONS (5-11) 21, Jaguars (5-11) 14 - FINAL: Both of these teams will run after the playoffs next season.

LIONS (5-11) 30, Rams (12-4) 20 - FINAL: UP-SET! Something for the Lions to build on for next year, and the Rams blew home field throughout the playoffs. Nice work.

CHIEFS (13-3) 31, Bears (7-9) 3 - FINAL: Yawn.

SAINTS (8-8) 13, Cowboys (10-6) 7 - FINAL: Parcells is trumped in the 'Dome. 'Boys still make the playoffs.

DOLPHINS (10-6) 23, Jets (6-10) 21 - FINAL: Wannstedt gets a two year extension, and delivers a win. Did one have to do with the other?

TITANS (12-4) 33, Buccaneers (7-9) 13 - FINAL: Titans blow away the World Champs, but still miss the division. Will be the Wild Card.

Panthers (11-5) 37, GIANTS (4-12) 24 - FINAL: Last hurrah for Jim Fassel, and this it the best the Giants can give him.

CARDINALS (4-12) 18, Vikings (9-7) 17 - FINAL: UP-SET!!! Where did the Cardinals get poise? Last play of the game gets them a touchdown to win! Minnesota is out!

PACKERS (10-6) 31, Broncos (10-6) 3 - FINAL: Ok, Denver is in the playoffs and played scrubs, and Green Bay really needed the win. That's the reasoning here.

CHARGERS (4-12) 21, Raiders (4-12) 14 - FINAL: Bill Callahan will be fired next week. Marty Schottenheimer will not.

RAVENS (10-6) 13, Steelers (6-10) 10 - FINAL/OT: Last game of the season goes to overtime. Wow!

San Diego (4-12). This franchise is a mess. They have a Hall of Fame coach and a magical backup QB, plus a running back for the ages. You'd think they could muster something more than four wins.
Oakland (4-12). Bill Callahan will be fired and Al Davis must retire. Must.
Arizona (4-12). They need God to love them more. Or at least tolerate them.
NY Giants (4-12). A new coach (Romeo Crennell perhaps?) will shape this team back up.
Atlanta (5-11). They need something more than just Mike Vick.
Detroit (5-11). Big win over the Rams is certainly something to build on for next year, Mooch.
Houston (5-11). Playoff team, 2004.
Jacksonville (5-11). Another Playoff team, 2004.
Cleveland (5-11). Playoff team, 2012.
Washington (5-11). Playoff team, 2554 (providing both Dan Snyder and Steve Spurrier are gone by then).
Buffalo (6-10). Tom Donahue is not going to blame himself and his gambling of two first round picks in the past two years for this disaster. Oh no. Gregg Williams gets this blame.
NY Jets (6-10). I hate the Jets and you should too.
San Francisco (7-9). Plenty for Dennis Erickson to build on for next year - which will probably not include Jeff Garcia, or shouldn't.
Chicago (7-9). A better coach will shape this team up in 2004.
Tampa Bay (7-9). Can you believe these guys won the Super Bowl last season? They looked like the Bucs of old.
New Orleans (8-8). I think the whole city of New Orleans is cursed with some voodoo spell.
Pittsburgh (6-10). I think a change is overdue in the Steel City. Way overdue.
Cinci (8-8). They had a good season, but lost three of the last four. Can't do that in this league.
Minnesota (9-7). You blew it!
Miami (10-6). Only the third team since 1990 (or was it 95) to win 10 and miss the playoffs, Let's face it: they had no business even winning this many.

New England (14-2). And we thought the 2001 team was good. 2-1.
Kansas City (13-3). They blew out the Bears to show they belong in the playoffs. 7-1.
Denver (10-6). They'll need to do better than scrubs in the playoffs. That loss in Green Bay was pathetic. 18-1.
Baltimore (10-6). The Lewis Bros. may just be what the Ravens need to carry them deep. 18-1.
Indy (12-4). Still need to win that big game, Peyton. 15-1.
Tennessee (12-4). They brought Neil O'Donnell back two weeks ago and he smokes the Bucs. How cool is that? 18-1.
Philly (12-4). Best in the NFC. 7-2.
Dallas (10-6). The Tuna will need to do some mighty motivating to get these guys to win. 50-1.
St. Louis (12-4). That big loss to Detroit just shows how sloppy these guys can be. 7-1.
Green Bay (10-6). Having Brett Favre's emotions mixed with the spirit of Lambeau is their saving grace for the first round. 12-1.
Carolina (11-5). Decent season with a slow finish. John Fox will need to boost the momentum to go deep. 30-1.
Seattle (10-6). Mike Holmgren's new jaunt into the post season should not last long. 70-1.

Lines courtesy of Sportsbook.com.

Defensive end Willie "Just Give Me that Quarterback" McGinest has been named AFC Player of the Week for his play against the Jets in Week 16. The 11 year veteran had an interception for a touchdown, 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Jets.

“Coach always tells us that turnovers need to mean points,” says McGinest, of head coach Bill Belichick. "So that (interception-touchdown) was a big one.”

The Monday Analysis congratulates Willie on this honor.

Tennessee (12-4) at Baltimore (10-6) 4:30 PM ABC. This might be the game where the away team has a better edge than the home team.

Dallas (10-6) at Carolina (11-5), 8 PM ABC. Going to Carolina should not worry Bill Parcells. Seeing whether his team joins him for the trip or not should be of concern.

Seattle (10-6) at Green Bay (10-6), 1 PM FOX. Mike Holmgren returns home for his first playoff game since leaving Green Bay and Brett Favre is going to school him.

Denver (10-6) at Indy (12-4), 4:30 PM CBS. Playoff game of the Horses. Peyton Manning has home field advantage and no excuses to get his first playoff win.

1. The 14-2 New England Patriots.

2. Ok, got a Christmas shopping complaint here with Barnes & Noble, more specifically BN.com. I placed an order on December 20th that was GUARANTEED to deliver within 24 hours, getting my gifts here before Christmas. I ordered 4 books, one came in after Christmas. The others are MIA. I am not the only one. I know of two others who were scrooged by BN.com this holiday season. Bah humbug to you Mr. Barnes and Mr. Noble. I'll try Amazon.com and Borders next year, you freakin tool.

3. Jamal Lewis (2,066 yards, 14 TDs), that's some rushing this season.

4. That was some finish from Arizona over the Vikings, but I am still in doubt that catch was a legit completion. You need two feet inbounds, the receiver (who cares who it is, this is Arizona we're taking about) had one, then was pushed out by a defender. By rule, that is a fair catch, but I still question it.

5. Brett Favre (again) pulled his team up when he was supposed to be down (this time the passing of his father unexpectedly). No wonder he's a three-time MVP.

6. That kick off return that Denver blundered and Green Bay recovered for another touchdown was incredible. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it.

7. I was just thinking how much it must suck where you're a fired head coach and it makes headlines all over the nation. Ugh.

8. The best part about games this late in the season is that we have Saturday games. Wall to wall football - all the time.

9. Great having Christmas with the whole family again.

10. A Happy Year to all!

ejh