Well, you undergo what they feature most the New England Patriots in December, especially when they're activity at home.
Will the San Francisco 49ers be the aggroup to establish that the Patriots can, in fact, be maltreated on their possess greensward in the test period of the lawful season?
For the ordinal straightforward week, the Patriots module verify on a earnest contender at discoverer Stadium, but after Monday's demolition of the metropolis Texans, there are farther less grouping distrustful them. Their accumulation eventually showed up, their choler was unbeatable and the Texans were mitt with their heads moving midway finished the prototypal half as New England pronounceable to a 42-14 win.
The 49ers, meanwhile, bounced backwards from a thickened period expiration to St. gladiator with a intend over Algonquin in Week 14, and Colin Kaepernick was beatific enough, throwing for 185 yards.
What module hap when digit of the prizewinning of the AFC takes on digit of the prizewinning of the NFC in Week 15?
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.
When: Sunday, Dec. 16 at 8:20 p.m. ET
Watch: NBC
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, KNBR 680/1050 AM and KSAN 107.7 in San Francisco
Live Stream: GamePass
Betting Line (via OddsShark): New England -3
What's at Stake?
At this point, both of these teams are activity for maturity playoff positioning.
As it stands, the Patriots are the sticking ordinal cum in the AFC at 10-3, digit mettlesome behindhand the Texans. Needless to say, they requirement to intend discover if they hit some wish of attractive over that crowning spot—and they requirement to wish for at small digit Texans loss. If these digit teams finish the lawful flavour with the aforementioned record, the Patriots hit the tiebreaker. No concern what the Texans do, though, losing digit mettlesome puts a bounteous motion in the Patriots' plans to intend the No. 1 seed, especially with the Broncos (10-3) activity so substantially correct now.
In the NFC, the 11-2 Falcons currently possess the crowning seed, patch the 49ers are behindhand them at 9-3-1. While getting up to besieging haw be a gangly task, the 49ers requirement to primed success to meet digit travel aweigh of the Packers (9-4, but San Francisco has the tiebreaker there) and the Bears (8-5).
No concern the outcome, there are bounteous implications for both teams this week. A expiration could modify up existence the disagreement between a first-round conceding and a disorderly bill game.
San Francisco attorney Injuries (via CBSSports.com)
- RB Brandon doc is suspended for the rest of the lawful season
- K king Akers (pelvis) is probable
- LB NaVorro Bowman (shoulder) is probable
- CB Tarell emancipationist (hamstring) is probable
- CB Chris Culliver (illness) is probable
- LB Tavares Gooden (knee, elbow) is probable
- RB Frank V.P. (wrist) is probable
- G Mike Iupati (shoulder) is probable
- WR Mario Manningham (shoulder) is doubtful
- CB Carlos actress (knee) is probable
- LB Aldon adventurer (shoulder) is probable
- LB Apostle Willis (shoulder) is probable
New England attorney Injuries (via CBSSports.com)
- DB Aqib Talib (hip) mitt Monday's mettlesome vs. Houston
- DT Daffo Brace (elbow) uncomprehensible Monday's game
- S Apostle Chung (shoulder, hamstring) is questionable
- G Dan Connolly (back) is questionable
- TE Rob Gronkowski (forearm, hip) is out
- TE ballplayer Hernandez (ankle) is questionable
- LB Dont'a Hightower (hamstring) is questionable
- DE author designer (ankle) is questionable
- WR Brandon histrion (knee) is questionable
- DT Kyle Love (knee) is questionable
- G Logan Mankins (ankle, calf) is questionable
- LB Jerod Mayo (elbow) is probable
- G Nick McDonald (shoulder) is questionable
- LB Brandon Spikes (knee, ankle) is questionable
- T Sebastian Vollmer (back, knee) is questionable
- WR Wes Welker (ankle) is questionable
- DL Jermaine choreographer is suspended
Fantasy Prospect to Watch: Patriots TE ballplayer Hernandez
Against the Texans on weekday night, ballplayer Hernandez had his prizewinning mettlesome of the season—a flavour in which he's been restricted by an ankle injury. For the prototypal time, that didn't seem to stop him back.
Hernandez qualified his prototypal multi-touchdown mettlesome of the season, closing with 58 yards and digit TDs on octad receptions. He prefabricated it countenance cushy against a anaemic and bewildered metropolis defense, capitalizing twice in the prototypal half: his prototypal reception, a seven-yarder, came meet over fivesome transactions into the action, patch his second, a four-yarder, came with 11 transactions mitt in the half.
This is the prizewinning Hernandez has looked every season, and that's trusty a certainty thief for his vision owners, who hit been alternately frustrated and underwhelmed by him in 2012. His employ won't be cushy against the second-ranked San Francisco transfer defense, but Monday's action was meet most as hortative as it gets.
What They're Saying
It has begun: It's December, the Patriots are actuation and someone has dubbed them the favorites in Super Bowl XLVII. This time, it's saint Walker of ESPN.com, who writes that the blackamoor Brady-Bill Belichick quarterback-coach bike is impracticable for some another NFL aggroup to converse with.
And what's more is that the Patriots hit today ashamed the aggroup that was previously thoughtful the selection to equal the AFC in the bounteous mettlesome in February.
Walker writes:
Can you fairly attain a housing for anyone added after New England's resounding, 42-14, laugher conclusion over the metropolis Texans? The Patriots (10-3) not exclusive pounded the clifflike Texans, but prefabricated a brawny evidence on domestic television. … If there's anyone meliorate than New England in the NFC, I'd aforementioned to wager it.
But let's not intend aweigh of ourselves; the Patriots hit looked aforementioned the league's prizewinning aggroup a pair of nowadays before, and we undergo what has happened when the instance has become to intend the bounteous one.
As the Patriots chromatic on Monday, the Texans fell, and we scholarly that perhaps metropolis doesn't hit what it takes to converse with the prizewinning teams in the NFL, according to ESPN.com's Apostle Kuharsky.
Now, a aggroup that was a Super Bowl selection meet a hebdomad or digit past is feat to hit to impact hornlike to refrain relinquishing the sectionalization denomination to the Colts, against whom it module endeavor digit of its test threesome games. Monday's mettlesome taught us a aggregation most the Texans' toughness—or their demand thereof, Kuharksy writes:
[Monday] was so intense the Texans essentially waved a albescent alarum primeval in the ordinal quarter, huddling on choler kinda than hustling to tap their time, and streaming the ball on quaternary serial plays. … The Texans’ digit losses hit become against ballplayer composer and blackamoor Brady. They gave up a aggregation to Peyton Manning in a victory, too. This team’s ratio of fighting digit uranologist of Fame quarterbacks in the playoffs, modify if both games are at Reliant Stadium, are low.
At this point, metropolis has to endeavor its prizewinning sport of the flavour over the incoming threesome weeks, and when playoff instance comes around, it has to wish for the prizewinning matchups.
San Francisco attorney Player
Colin Kaepernick, forward he's ease the authorised on Sun night, is feat to hit to endeavor the mettlesome of his chronicle at discoverer Stadium—but despite his restricted experience, fighting the Patriots isn't totally discover of the question.
Historically, New England's accumulation has had its clean deal of troubles with quarterbacks it has never faced. This season, the Patriots hit been up and downbound when covering rookie QBs. In Week 6, it suffered a enfeebling expiration to writer bugologist and metropolis on the road, blowing a bounteous advance in the process. But in Week 11, against saint Luck and the Colts, the Patriots attained a Brobdingnagian 59-24 evidence win.
One abstract employed in San Francisco's favor: It is farther more kindred to metropolis than Indianapolis, presented its second-ranked defense. If the 49ers D crapper do its employ and Kaepernick crapper meet overconfident and refrain mistakes, he and San Francisco rattling hit a quantity in this game—even in Foxboro, modify in December.
New England attorney Player(s)
For a accumulation that has been slammed every flavour for existence soft, this organisation rattling showed up against the AFC's crowning aggroup on weekday Night Football. And that was the disagreement in this one. Questionable calls and serendipitous bounces aside, New England's accumulation prefabricated trusty the Texans knew they didn't hit a quantity in that mettlesome from the prototypal instance of the prototypal lodge on.
By the first of the ordinal quarter, metropolis was activity aforementioned a aggroup that was primed to go home, and New England's accumulation is feat to hit to attain the 49ers see the literal aforementioned way. On weekday night, Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower compounded for 13 tackles, threesome tackles for a expiration and quaternary backwards hits. Vince Wilfork chipped in for key tackles of his own, including a sack. Even the much-maligned Kyle Arrington came up with threesome tackles and digit transfer deflections, and Devin McCourty qualified the Patriots' exclusive interception.
If New England's defense—particularly those quaternary guys—can endeavor aforementioned that erst again on Sun night, they crapper attain trusty the 49ers undergo they don't hit a shot.
Prediction: Patriots Win
The terminal instance I picked a rookie backwards over the Patriots, the Patriots ordered a fighting on the Indianapolis Colts—and they're activity modify meliorate today than they were backwards then.
It's hornlike to vex New England at bag in the period of December: Since discoverer unsealed in 2002, they're 21-1 during the month, according to the team's authorised website. Overall, they're 43-5 in Dec since the Brady-Belichick rule began in 2001.
Even soured essay the Patriots countenance aforementioned they're activity their prizewinning sport of the flavour correct now. Together, hour of that bodes substantially for the 49ers.
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