OK, now may be the time for the 1972 Dolphins to start to break a sweat, because this year's New England Patriots look like they are in a world of their own.
Tom Brady and the Pats improved to 6-0 with a thorough beating of the previously unbeaten Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, 48-27. New England has scored at least 34 points in every game this season (on pace to finish with 613 points, which would shatter the previous single-season scoring record of 556 held by the 1998 Vikings), hasn't won by less than 17 and, oh yeah, has covered the spread every week.
Does that Nov. 4 showdown with fellow remaining unbeaten Indianapolis look like the de facto Super Bowl or what? You can bet on the two teams' odds of going unbeaten at WagerWeb.com.
Against the Cowboys, Brady threw a career-high and franchise-record-tying five touchdown passes and the Patriots' offense racked up 28 first downs and 448 yards of total offense. New England dominated time of possession, 38:15-21:45, and total plays (78-46).
It's a trend that the Patriots have followed all season, averaging 35:08 in time of possession per game to an opponents' average of 24:08. The Patriots have run nearly 100 more plays than their counterparts (412 to 322).
"They killed us on third down the whole game," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "We tried everything we could do, almost every coverage and blitz. They seem to have the right answer for everything and that's certainly the quarterback."
Brady is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw three or more touchdowns in each of his first six games of a campaign, and his 21 TD tosses are ahead of Peyton Manning's record-setting pace of 2004, when he finished with 49 (Manning had 17 through six weeks).
Receiver Randy Moss, who is the co-leader in the NFL in touchdown catches, was asked whether any defense can stop the Pats.
"I don't want to say yes and I don't want to say no," Moss said. "Tom Brady does not let us lollygag in practice. He wants the best out of us every day. If we can make it happen in practice against the defense that we have, then we can go out there and make things happen against anybody. I'm not saying that we're unstoppable, but we work hard at what we do, so we expect good things."
So how about New England's chances at 16-0?Well, incidentally, next up are the Dolphins, who always seem to give the Patriots and Brady fits when the game is in South Florida. In fact, a bad Miami team shut out New England 21-0 last December at Dolphin Stadium. So consider that when you see the Pats at 17-point early week favorites on WagerWeb.com.
However, Coach Bill Belichick says his team won't overlook the struggling Fins.
"The last time we went down there, we got shut out," Belichick said. "So I hope we can do better than that this time. It will be a big challenge for us ... I don't think we'll have any problem getting ready for that."
After Miami comes Washington in Foxboro, which should get New England to 8-0. Then that sure-to-be-hyped Nov. 4 showdown on Sunday at Indy. That could be the only game in which there's a chance New England is not favored.
If the Pats make it past the Colts, look out. They would have a bye week to get healthy, then games at Buffalo (win), home vs. Philly (win) before a tough back-to-back stretch at Baltimore and home to Pittsburgh.
QUARTERBACK UPDATES: The biggest injury at QB this past weekend was Vince Young's in Tennessee's loss at Tampa Bay. The Titans' heart and soul suffered a quadriceps' strain, but he is day-to-day. Expect VY to play at Houston, the team he loves to torture for not drafting the hometown boy. There is no line yet posted on WagerWeb.com for this game because of Young's status.
Meanwhile, Rams QB Marc Bulger is set to return for winless St. Louis. Bulger has been out for two games due to broken ribs, but Coach Scott Linehan said the quarterback would be cleared to play at Seattle.
"Yeah, I'm playing," Bulger said. "I'm ready now after standing around for two weeks. They definitely feel a little better, but I haven't been hit." The Rams' 0-6 start matches the worst in franchise history in 1962, when the team finished 1-12-1 while based in Los Angeles. There is no line yet posted on WagerWeb.com for the Rams-Seahawks game.
In Baltimore, Kyle Boller will start for a second straight week for Steve McNair. McNair has a groin injury, and the Ravens have a bye week after Sunday's game at Buffalo, where the Bills are 3-point underdogs at WagerWeb.com.
In Arizona, Kurt Warner believes he has ligament damage in his-non-throwing elbow but shouldn't miss more than a week. That means Tim Rattay, who was just signed by Arizona, is expected to start Sunday at Washington, with the Redskins -7.5 on WagerWeb.com.
Rattay was 12-for-24 for 159 yards and three INTs as Warner's replacement in Sunday's loss to Carolina.
Lastly, in New York, the Jets are 1-5 and sinking fast, yet Coach Eric Mangini continues to insist he won't bench or trade starter Chad Pennington.
Pennington has thrown six interceptions in the last three games, and in the Jets' 16-9 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, Pennington was just 11-of-21 for 128 yards as New York couldn't reach the end zone.
How much longer can Mangini keep backup and future starter Kellen Clemens on the bench!? Some good news for the Jets is they play at disappointing Cincinnati on Sunday, with the Bengals -6 on WagerWeb.com.
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