Patriots Wins Not Pretty, But Have Great Personalities

The Patriots are 6-2. And Sunday afternoon was another so-called "ugly" win. But I prefer to see these wins as having good personalities. And some having rugged good looks.

Let's look at some of the positives. The Pats almost tripled their season total for 3rd quarter points with 17 in this game. They rushed the ball well. The defense forced turnovers. The defense allowed less than 20 points and only 2 touchdowns, even with all the injuries. They sacked Ryan Tannehill 6 times. After Tom Brady's interception in the first quarter, the Patriots didn't turn the ball over at all.

And most promising of all is that the defense closed the game out. The offense didn't need to keep piling up points or run out the clock with an 8 minute drive. The defense sealed the win with interceptions and a blocked field goal.

The defense could also form a highly competitive volleyball team if they wanted to.

The refs helped. And for Patriots haters out there, that's actually good news. Because now maybe Pats fans will stop talking about officiating for awhile.

However I don't think Miami did much to win this game with or without favorable calls going the Patriots way. The Pats had a lousy first half, probably their worst half of the season. Miami got ahead, then the Pats woke up with their best third quarter of the year. And Miami had no answer. It wasn't a pretty win, it was a win, and this isn't college football with the BCS. There are no style points. Wins are wins, losses are losses.

The Patriots are 6-2 halfway through the schedule. Who saw that coming with all these injuries?

Who thought that Brady would have a 74.9 rating and the Pats would be tied for the 5th best record in the NFL and 3rd best in the AFC. Both their losses have been on the road and close, only a few plays or a drive away from being victories. And they're taking care of business in the division and at home. They're 2 games ahead in the AFC East and 4-0 at home.

These wins don't win beauty pageants. But they are fun, they are exciting, they make for interesting conversations. And this winter do you want a team that needs makeup to look good and can only win one way? Or would you rather a team that can find different ways to win?

Pats host the 2-5 Steelers next Sunday afternoon.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne