The 2007 New England Patriots are the only NFL team to go 16-0 during the regular season. This year's Patriots team could be the second.
Several bet shops, including Sportsbook and South Point in Las Vegas, had put out a two-way prop on New England going unbeaten. Those odds opened 20-1 the Patriots would not and 12-1 they would.
Right now 12-1 seems high.
Patriots Winning by About 17 Per Outing
Perhaps motivated by Deflategate, Bill Belichick and the Patriots have resembled Genghis Khan and the Golden Mongol Horde compiling a 7-0 record with an average victory margin of nearly 17 points.
That figure would be higher if Pittsburgh didn't score a meaningless touchdown on the final play against them and Buffalo didn't put up a bunch of garbage points after falling behind, 37-13.
The Patriots should win next Sunday when they host Washington. The early line is New England minus 13, according to oddsmakers at the Sportsbook Hotel in Las Vegas.
New England's biggest test figures to come on the road against Denver on Nov. 29. The Patriots' other road games are the Giants on Nov. 15, Houston on Dec. 13 and closing the regular season versus the Jets and Miami.
The Patriots' remaining home contests are against the Bills, Philadelphia and Tennessee.
Only Jets Came Close to Topping Partiots
Only the Jets last week came close to beating the Patriots. New York led 20-16 in the fourth quarter, but Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to push the Patriots to a 30-23 victory. It took a 55-yard field goal by Nick Folk with 18 seconds left, or the Patriots also would have covered that game.
New England is 4-1-2 against the spread this season with one of the push results occurring on the Steelers' backdoor touchdown on the final play.
Brady is having one of his finest seasons at 38. He's completing a career-tying 69.8 percent, has a 20-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio and is on pace to throw for more than 5,500 yards. Belichick continues to coach up the Patriots' defense, which ranks in the top 11 in yards and points.
Considering how well they are playing, the only thing that could trip the Patriots on their way to an unbeaten season is if they clinch home-field advantage early and Belichick chooses to rest starters.
