The New England Patriots

That the New England Patriots have done is more impressive than what the 1972 Dolphins did.

Sorry for the local blasphemy, but the Pats have done the impossible.

They have somehow bettered perfection.

They have to win once more to be remembered that way, of course, because they have turned an 18-1 record into something between a profound disappointment and a failure.

But what they have done, in this era, against this schedule, in a league that legislates equity into its very rules, is more overwhelming than what Shula, Zonk and Griese did in going 17-0.

And it goes beyond the simple math of winning 18 consecutive games instead of merely 17.

It is doing all of the following in the age of parity:

They went 6-0 in their division. No other team managed that.

They went 12-0 in their conference. No other team did that.

They beat Buffalo by 46 points. Nobody else managed that.

And beat the Bills by 31, too. Nobody could do that, either.

They won at Indianapolis and Dallas. Nobody else did that.

They beat Pittsburgh by three touchdowns. No other team did that.

And Cincinnati by 21. No other team did that.

Dallas by 21, too. Nobody else did that against the Cowboys' starters.

Washington didn't lose a regular-season game by more than eight points this season -- except the one it lost by 45 to the Pats.

The Patriots were unbeaten on grass, outdoors and on the road. Nobody else did any of those, never mind all of them.

They were unbeaten against the NFC East, the toughest division in football. Nobody else did that.

They beat the Chargers by 24 points. Nobody else managed that.

They led the Dolphins 42-7 at halftime. Nobody else did that, even though it felt like everyone did.

And, most impressive of all, they beat just about every elite team in the league. Allow that to wash over you as you consider that the 1972 Dolphins managed their perfection against a below-.500 schedule.

Look at the Pats vs. the teams in the playoffs.

Colts? Beat them.

Cowboys? Beat them.

Giants? Beat them.

Jaguars? Beat them.

Steelers? Beat them.

Redskins? Beat them by the aforementioned 45.

Chargers? Beat them twice, the last time despite a San Diego eight-game winning streak heading into that game.

Even beat a 10-6 Browns team that didn't make the playoffs by 17.

Who did they miss? Among playoff teams, just Tennessee, Green Bay, Seattle and Tampa Bay. But only because none won enough to get to them.

So the finishing touch would be beating (again) the Giants team that trampled three of those teams for the right to be a 12-point underdog against New England.

In the history of the league, you would have a hard time finding any team that ran that kind of gauntlet without stumbling even once.

''Where did we end up with regard to the median of the league?'' 1972 immortal Mercury Morris said. ``Number one in offense, defense, special teams. Fewest giveaways, most takeaways. Least penalized. Scored the most points, gave up the least. A couple of thousand-yard rushers, first time ever. Broke the rushing record. I don't know what stats the Patriots have, but you go back and do your homework and line them up against those numbers and tell me they're No. 1 in every relevant category, and then we can make a comparison.''

No, we can make it now.

Through 18 games, these Patriots are better than the most perfect team in the history of American pro sports.

© 2008 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
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Sep 09 NE 38 @ NYJ 14
Sep 16 SD 14 @ NE 38
Sep 23 BUF 7 @ NE 38
Oct 01 NE 34 @ CIN 13
Oct 07 CLE 17 @ NE 34
Oct 14 NE 48 @ DAL 27
Oct 21 NE 49 @ MIA 28
Oct 28 WAS 7 @ NE 52
Nov 04 NE @ IND 4:15 PM
Week 10 Bye
Nov 18 NE @ BUF 1:00 PM
Nov 25 PHI @ NE 8:15 PM
Dec 03 NE @ BAL 8:30 PM
Dec 09 PIT @ NE 1:00 PM
Dec 16 NYJ @ NE 1:00 PM
Dec 23 MIA @ NE 1:00 PM
Dec 29 NE @ NYG 8:15 PM