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Got your hat? Got your T-Shirt? You will soon, Pats fans

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Dec 24, 2021

Look, we all know Bill Belichick can be a grinch, right?

We weren’t expecting him to be all rosey after last Saturday night’s New England Patriots debacle in Indianapolis.

That should change this week. Mac Jones, you’re about to experience your first Hat and T-Shirt Day. The Patriots can capture the AFC East win a win Sunday and a Miami Dolphins loss on Monday night.

The Patriots should beat the Buffalo Bills then. Buffalo is too one-dimensional, unable to run the football effectively. How they decided to build a soft, finesse team in the Northeast is beyond us.

We think Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who can also be a Grinch, will be singing a different tune about practice this week.

“Whether it’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, you’re just trying to fix the things you can fix, and then improve on the things that you know what you need to do, like your fundamentals. … and then, by the time Sunday comes, you’re just playing the game that you know how to play and have played for a really long time.”

Jones said he’s over last weekend, and that’s good. We’ll know a lot about this Patriots team on Sunday, because the sign of a good football team is to not let one bad week bleed into another.

“I think you just have to keep moving forward and understand what we’re about to face in a really good football team,” Jones said. “It comes down to controlling what you can control and that’s your attitude and effort. We’re trying to do that every day and eventually we’ll stack days together.”

Oh, that sounds so familiar. So will the sight of Patriots celebrating Hat And T-Shirt Day at some point soon.

We just home it’s not another 4-3 week for yours truly, four straight and counting.

PATRIOTS 24, BILLS 13

Merry Christmas, Patriot fans, you’re going to make Bills coach Sean McDermott even more of a grinch than he was after the first meeting a couple of weeks ago in Buffalo. The Bills are a soft team, and Sunday will just continue that thought. Down a receiver or two? No problem, just run the ball.

CHIEFS 27, STEELERS 13

The Chiefs will continue to sit atop the AFC because this game is at home. The Steelers keep surviving just when you think they’re done, but they simply can’t mount the offense to match what KC has, even though it’s not as explosive as in the past.

RAVENS 23, BENGALS 22

Roles are reversed. The Bengals have a chance to win the game by going for two in the game’s final minute, and Joe Burrow throws an incomplete pass. John Harbaugh Disease is spreading fast across the NFL, and coaches better not catch it or they’ll coach their way out of the playoffs. Hopefully Harbaugh is now cured.

COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON 17

Now everyone is wondering what’s wrong with the Cowboys offense, when its defense has suddenly risen up. Well, while the WFT is very competitive, they don’t play well on the road and Dak Prescott will get the offense riding high again as the Cowboys grab the NFC East.

RAMS 27, VIKINGS 21

Rams QB Matt Stafford is used to being the enemy in Minneapolis, after all his years with the Lions. That experience comes in handy as L.A.puts more heat on Arizona in the race for the NFC West title.

PACKERS 35, BROWNS 20

Even if Baker Mayfield is back for Cleveland in this one, there will be plenty of Lambeau Leaps on the part of the Packers as more Browns keep showing up on the COVID list, the latest being starting center JC Tretter. The Packers have a chance to extend their spot atop the NFC, with the division already being a foregone conclusion. They won’t miss it, as it seems like a lost year in Cleveland.

CARDINALS 24, COLTS 17

Indianapolis isn’t as good as it looked last Saturday vs. the Patriots; if the Colts were, they’d be on their way to clinching a playoff berth by now. Carson Wentz stinks. Kyler Murray, if healthy, is good. End of comparison. Merry Christmas, Arizona.

LAST WEEK: 4-3

SEASON: 69-37

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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