I don't have a ton of analysis to drop since my iPhone decided to crap out right before the game started and I spent the subsequent 3 hours plus on the phone with Apple support.  I was in and out of the game in between countless computer restarts and uninstalls and re-installs of iTunes.  Come to think of it, maybe it's not a good thing to have your phone/mp3player/digital camera/video camera/email/gaming all on one device.  Because when it stops working, you're in a tough spot.  Let's just say that if my mp3 player broke at 12:30pm on a Sunday afternoon, not a moment of the football game would've been missed.  Anyway, here's some quick observations...

• To say I was concerned following Buffalo's opening drive, where they ran all over a Wilfork-less Patriots defense, would be a major understatement.  As I mentioned in my game preview, the team that performed best on the ground would likely come out the winner. While the Patriots didn't dominate, their ability to plug the dam and contain Buffalo's running backs for the remainder of the game played a huge role in their victory.
• After the game, Randy Moss said you could put the earth on his shoulders.  Well, yesterday, he certainly carried the Patriots on them.  The long pass play to Moss that drew a defensive pass interference penalty, as well as his super-human catch moments later for the touchdown put the Patriots on top.  For the first time in a long time, he also caught more passes than Wes Welker
• I won't get too happy about dominating Buffalo's offensive line, but the Patriots' six sacks were a sight for sore eyes after suffering from an ineffective pass rush for the majority of the season.  With the D-line banged up, the Patriots were forced to go to their sub package which featured only linebackers and defensive backs.  This created a lot of confusion for the Buffalo passing game, and could be a good weapon for the Patriots to keep in their arsenal when they need a big stop on 3rd down in the future.
• The victory was the team's first true road win.  Not something that you necessarily want to accomplish in Week 15, but at 9-5, things could certainly be a lot worse.
• With both Miami and New York losing, the Patriots are a victory away from clinching the AFC East!  Never take making the playoffs for granted.

If you write a review of the most boring game of the season a day late, will anybody read it?  Maybe not, but I'll write one any way.  After all, as mundane as the Patriots victory over Carolina may have been, there was still some interesting subplots that developed.  I'll avoid focusing too much on the X's and O's and concentrate more on some of the important themes I noticed during the course of the game.

Game Ball: This one goes to Wes Welker, without question.  For a while, I was considering handing the game ball to (gasp!) Laurence Maroney, but then Welker blew the game wide open in the second half en route to his 6th double-digit receiving game of the season.  Forget about all the yards and the movement of the chains that Welker created, perhaps his biggest impact on Sunday was the energy that he injected into the game.  On a dreary afternoon where neither team appeared interested in winning, Welker provided the jolt of enthusiasm that woke up the indifferent Patriots.  For that reason, Welker gets the nod for the game ball.  He was instrumental in making sure the Patriots didn't apathetically toss this game away.

Mixing it Up: I mentioned in my game preview that the Patriots needed to get away from their two-man game with Welker and Moss and start allowing the tight ends to be involved.  Looks like Bill Belichick has been reading this blog, as Ben Watson had three receptions, including the Pats' only touchdown grab.  I also mentioned the importance of establishing a running game.  Sure enough, New England's 185 rushing yards was their second highest total of the season, trailing only their 59-0 drubbing of the Titans.  When the Patriots are able to keep their opponents off-guard, they're at their most dangerous.  If they're going to go anywhere in this post-season, they'll need to employ the strengths of their total offensive package, not just their top two receivers.

At a Loss for Moss: I don't think for a second that Randy Moss "quit" on his team as so many members of the media are implying.  Randy certainly had an awful game and was clearly responsible for one turnover (his fumble) and possibly guilty for another (Brady's interception where Moss didn't follow through on his route).  Still, to equate a bad performance with quitting is taking a fairly large liberty. Could Randy's lack of preparation from being sent home on Wednesday have played a role in his lack of production on Sunday?  That's certainly another way to look at it.  However, if you consider Randy's track record as a Patriot, he certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt.  Even the best player has a bad day.  Nobody said Tom Brady was mailing it in on some of his four-interception games.  Moss certainly didn't make me happy on Sunday, but he didn't deserve the chorus of boos that the Foxboro faithful unleashed upon him.  Seriously, people.  That's just asking for trouble.

Rewind: Last year, at 7-5, the Patriots faced an underwhelming Seahawks team in Week 14.  Similar to this season, there was a bit of a logjam atop the AFC East and New England desperately needed to knock off their inferior opponent.  The Patriots came out flat and I saw their season begin to slip away as Seattle jumped out to a significant lead.  Finally, the Pats turned it on in the second half, and the momentum carried through to the end of the '08 season.  By the time Week 17 rolled around, the Patriots looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders.  Unfortunately, as we all know, they never got their shot at the playoffs.  This year, if New England can learn to channel the ghosts of seasons past and use this comeback victory over Carolina as a springboard, they will get the shot they were denied last year. I've said all season long that this team has the talent to hoist the Lombardi, if they can just learn to play the right way.  Here's hoping that the versatile offense they displayed and the strong second half that they dominated are signs of things to come.

There's nothing better than the weekend after a horrible loss.  You can finally get the bad taste out of your mouth, turn the momentum upwards, and find some redemption.  One win can can change a whole lot.  If the Patriots can find a way to walk out of Miami with a convincing victory, they'll be 8-4, have the division all but wrapped up, and suddenly last week's embarrassment becomes the abberation, not the rule.  They can begin to set their sights on playoff positioning as their remaining four more games are against mediocre-at-best teams.  They can focus on getting healthy and making adjustments for what's going to be a very difficult playoff run.  You give Bill Belichick four solid weeks to prepare, and I like the Patriots' chances.  But first, the Patriots need to take care of business in Miami, and if you know New England's history, that's easier said than done.

1st Down:  Dynamic Duo. If there's one thing that continues to eat at me following the Saints game, it's not the blown coverages on defense.  I feel fairly confident that we won't again see the mental meltdown of Jonathan Wilhite and Brandon Merriweather letting a receiver run past them uncontested.  What does give me some pause is the way the Saints were able to shut down both Randy Moss and Wes Welker by a series of double teams.  If the Patriots aren't effective on the ground and Miami starts throwing heavy pressure on both Welker and Moss, it's going to be up to New England's 3rd receiver to be able to make plays in single coverage.  Can the team rely on Sam Aiken to do this?  That's a scary thought.

This is a copy-cat league so you know that Miami will absolutely be deploying some of the Saints schemes.  On the flip side, Belichick's had a week to prepare for it and should have a few tricks up his sleeve to exploit it.  Football is a game of checks and balances.  You only have 11 men on the field at a given time, so if you're throwing four at Wes and Randy, there's going to be holes somewhere.  In the air game, it's going to be mostly up to Aiken, but look for Kevin Faulk, Maroney, and Ben Watson to throw some wrinkles into the game plan as well.  The Patriots have gotten exteremly one-dimensional over the course of this season.  Tomorrow's game could be the one where we finally see a return to the Patriots' patented method of spreading the ball around.