Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
January 11, 2008, Washington Post

Rooting for a Perfect Ending

Now that the Washington Redskins have been eliminated from the National Football League playoffs, the big question for local pro football fans -- aside from who will replace Coach Joe Gibbs -- is: Can anyone beat the New England Patriots?

New England is the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season with a 16-0 record. Pats players also set some records. Quarterback Tom Brady threw 50 touchdown passes, breaking the single-season mark of the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning, and was voted the NFL's Most Valuable Player. Wide receiver Randy Moss caught 23 of Brady's scoring passes, setting another single-season record.

After New England Coach Bill Belichick was caught filming another team's defensive signals when he was not supposed to, the Patriots seemed to be on a mission to prove they were the best team in the league . . . by far. New England outscored its opponents by an average of nearly 20 points a game!

So can anyone beat them? The Jacksonville Jaguars, who play the Pats tomorrow night, would have to control the clock by handing the ball repeatedly to running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. That would limit Brady's opportunities to throw even more touchdown passes.

But people forget that the Pats' defense is plenty good. It gave up fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground and was rated third overall in its conference. My prediction is that the Pats will beat the Jags.

I think that the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts are the only team with a chance to beat the Patriots. Led by Manning, the Colts have a high-scoring attack that can stay with New England. Indianapolis also gave up the fewest points in the NFL.

This season, the Colts lost to the Patriots, 24-20, in a game that could have gone either way. If Indianapolis can get by the San Diego Chargers this weekend, the Colts will give the Patriots all they can handle.

I'm rooting for the Patriots to stay perfect, but not because I was born in Massachusetts. In fact, I like the Redskins more than the Patriots. But one of the fun things in sports is to see a player or team that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

It's great to see tennis star Roger Federer crush a perfect forehand, even in a straight-sets win. Or watch Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam smack a drive down the center of the fairway on the way to another golf championship.

Or marvel as the Patriots win the Super Bowl and become the first pro football team to go 19-0.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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