Halftime: Patriots 28, Jaguars 0

A handful of halftime observations from Gillette Stadium:

* The hats and T-shirts can come out early. Not only are the Patriots crushing the Jaguars, but the Texans are cruising against the Dolphins. Barring an epic turn of events both here and in Miami, the Patriots have won the AFC East and are bound for the playoffs.

That's great news not just for the banged-up Tom Brady, but also for Vince Wilfork (out), Ty Warren and Stephen Neal (still not playing every snap). All four can either leave the game early next week or sit out entirely.

* Maroney coughs it up. For someone who fumbled so rarely early in his career, Laurence Maroney appears to have caught fumblitis lately. The running back let the ball slip away at the goal line -- sound familiar? -- to end what to that point had been as impressive of a drive as the Patriots have put together all year. An 18-yard run by a slaloming Kevin Faulk and a 14-yard pass to Ben Watson in the red zone set up the play that should have ended in a touchdown -- but instead ended in a turnover.

Maroney did not return to the game for the rest of the half. Faulk and Sammy Morris handled the duties in the backfield from that point on, rushing for 36and 83 first-half yards, respectively.

* Patriots' offensive line dominates. For the first time all season, the Patriots debuted their best offensive line all at once: Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Neal and Sebastian Vollmer. Not coincidentally, the Patriots marched right down the field -- Light, Mankins and Koppen opened some huge holes on the left side of the line -- on their first drive.

Dan Connolly replaced Neal on the first play of the second quarter, the touchdown pass from Brady to Chris Baker. It seems as though the Patriots decided to be careful with Neal, who sat out for two drives before returning.

That didn't mean Connolly was done, though: The veteran lined up as a fullback and threw a huge lead block to spring Morris on a 55-yard run through the right side. Connolly then led Morris through the left side for a one-yard touchdown run that pushed the Patriots' lead to 21-0 in the second quarter.

* Patriots rotate along defensive line. Likewise, the Patriots have been careful with the snaps played by defensive end Ty Warren. Mike Wright started the game at defensive end with Ron Brace at nose tackle -- but when Brace appeared to get pushed off the line on the Jaguars' first couple of runs, Wright moved to nose tackle with Warren in at defensive end.

That drive ended with safeties Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders coming up from the secondary on back-to-back plays and making huge stops on short-yardage runs.

On the Jaguars' next two drives, Warren went back to the bench and Myron Pryor played nose tackle between Green and Wright.

* Banta-Cain is able. A week after tallying three sacks in Buffalo, outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain kept building his case for a bid to the Pro Bowl. Banta-Cain, one of the few constants as the Patriots shuffled between their base defense and the mill-around defense they debuted against the Bills, has been the best defensive player on the field.

On back-to-back plays early in the second quarter, Banta-Cain sacked David Garrard and forced a fumble that the Jaguars managed to recover. On the very next play, Maurice Jones-Drew tried to run against that mill-around defense with no down linemen -- and Banta-Cain drilled him after a gain of just two yards. On the first play of the Jaguars' next possession, Banta-Cain and Wright combined to drop Jones-Drew for a one-yard loss.

* Oh, yeah: Moss and Welker. It's not fair to characterize it as Welker doing the dirty work and Moss getting the glory. On the biggest play of the Patriots' fourth scoring drive, Moss cleared out the defensive backs with a deep route down the right sideline, and Welker ran into the vacated team to catch a lob for a 29-yard gain.

(No one gets to gripe about Moss not trying this week.)

Welker has eight catches -- breaking his own single-season record in the process -- for 93 yards, and Moss has caught two passes, both for touchdowns.

Nagging injuries slowing Patriots down

From ESPN's Adam Schefter this morning: "Tom Brady will play today -- but those ribs, and that finger, and that shoulder, and that knee, are a little worse than people realize."

Brady hasn't looked like himself for the last two weeks.

The Patriots haven't looked like themselves, either.

Maybe injuries have been a factor for both.

The Patriots' injury report has looked a little bit like its 53-man roster this month. Seventeen players were listed as questionable for the game at New Orleans, and 14 were listed as questionable a week ago against Miami. Nine were listed as questionable for today's game against the Carolina Panthers -- including Brady, who was listed with injuries to his right shoulder, his right finger and his ribs. Among other notables:
* LB Tully Banta-Cain (shoulder)
* WR Julian Edelman (forearm)
* DE Jarvis Green (knee)
* OT Nick Kaczur (ankle)
* OG Stephen Neal (ankle)
* RB Fred Taylor (ankle)
* DE Ty Warren (ankle)

Not one of those players were full-go during any of the Patriots' practices this week. Not one of those players will be full-go even if they're activated today. On top of that, defensive tackle Myron Pryor did not practice at all this week and almost certainly will not be active today.

Football, of course, is a game of injuries. But the Patriots have been hit hard with nagging injuries at key spots -- especially along the offensive line. Season-ending injuries can be crippling to a team, but if its best players spend week after week dealing with pain that limits their mobility or strength, well, that's almost as tough to deal with.

The Patriots really aren't that good

It's the popular idea today: The Patriots didn't necessarily do anything egregiously wrong in their loss at Miami on Sunday. The Patriots don't necessarily have some sort of mental block when it comes to winning on the road. The Patriots aren't necessarily gag artists who can't live up to expectations.

The Patriots might just not be all that good.

Given the numerous factors that go into winning and losing football games, it's a tough theory to try to prove. With help from our friends at ProFootballFocus.com, though, we'll give it a shot. Here's a position-by-position look -- with stats up to date entering play entering play in Week 13 and thus not including Week 13 -- at how the Patriots rank when compared to their counterparts around the NFL:

(Note: The PFF.com rankings include every aspect of the game -- meaning wide receivers are evaluated on their run-blocking as well as their pass-catching, and linebackers are evaluated on their pass coverage as well as their tackling.)

Center
1. Ryan Kalil, Carolina
2. Nick Mangold, N.Y. Jets
3. Jake Grove, Miami
13. Dan Koppen, New England

Guard
1. Jahri Evans, New Orleans
2. Steve Neal, New England
3. Carl Nicks, New Orleans
12. Logan Mankins, New England

Tackle
1. Joe Thomas, Cleveland
2. Willie Colon, Pittsburgh
3. Jake Long, Miami
5. Sebastian Vollmer, New England
14. Nick Kaczur, New England
45. Matt Light, New England

Tight end
1. Kevin Boss, N.Y. Giants
2. Jason Witten, Dallas
3. Dallas Clark, Indianapolis
18. Chris Baker, New England
33. Ben Watson, New England

Wide receiver
1. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis
2. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
3. Vincent Jackson, San Diego
9. Wes Welker, New England
18. Randy Moss, New England
45. Sam Aiken, New England

Running back
1. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
2. Ray Rice, Baltimore
3. Ricky Williams, Miami
9. Kevin Faulk, New England
49. Laurence Maroney, New England

Quarterback
1. Drew Brees, New Orleans
2. Brett Favre, Minnesota
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
10. Tom Brady, New England

Offensive analysis: The Patriots have two players who rank among the top five at their position in the NFL. Both -- Neal and Vollmer -- were injured against Miami. Wes Welker remains a playmaking machine. Brady ranks ahead of names like Carson Palmer, Eli Manning and Joe Flacco but behind David Garrard, Kurt Warner and Matt Schaub.

3-4 defensive end
1. Justin Smith, San Francisco
2. Randy Starks, Miami
3. Corey Williams, Cleveland
11. Ty Warren, New England
(Neither Jarvis Green nor Mike Wright has played enough snaps at 3-4 end to qualify.)

Defensive tackle
1. Kevin Williams, Minnesota
2. Kelly Gregg, Baltimore
3. Vince Wilfork, New England

3-4 outside linebacker
1. DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
2. James Harrison, Pittsburgh
3. Tully Banta-Cain, New England

Inside linebacker
1. Ray Lewis, Baltimore
2. Patrick Willis, San Francisco
3. Nick Barnett, Green Bay
33. Gary Guyton, New England
39. Jerod Mayo, New England

Cornerback
1. Charles Woodson, Green Bay
2. Darrelle Revis, N.Y. Jets
3. Antoine Winfield, Minnesota
14. Leigh Bodden, New England
61. Darius Butler, New England
68. Shawn Springs, New England
81. Jonathan Wilhite, New England

Safety
1. Ed Reed, Baltimore
2. Reed Doughty, Washington
3. Nick Collins, Green Bay
14. Brandon Meriweather, New England
68. Brandon McGowan, New England

Defensive analysis: The dismal rankings of the Patriots' cornerbacks shouldn't be surprising. Whoever it is that watches film for ProFootballFocus.com, though, also is having a tough time finding impact plays made either by Mayo or McGowan. The disappearance of Mayo in particular -- he has 64 tackles in nine games this season, but raise your hand if you remember the last impact play he made -- might be one of the most under-discussed subplots of the Patriots' collapse. That might be worth a separate film breakdown and discussion in this space.

Credit should go to Tully Banta-Cain, however, who really is having a Pro Bowl-caliber year rushing the passer. Entering play Sunday, PFF.com had credited Banta-Cain with five sacks, seven hits on the quarterback and 13 pressures -- and he'd missed just two tackles all season.

Neal, Green among Patriots' inactives

His name doesn't show up on the stat sheet all that often, but Stephen Neal might be the most significant of the Patriots' inactives against the Jets. The veteran right guard has been the best at his position in the NFL so far this season -- he's at his best as a run-blocker, but he's allowed just two sacks and one hit on the quarterback all season, too.

He'll be replaced by Dan Connolly, who allowed one quarterback pressure and drew negative ratings for his play in place of Neal against Indianapolis a week ago.

Sammy Morris, too, remains inactive with a knee injury. It'll be the fourth straight game Morris has missed -- and his physical running style is something the Patriots could have used in their short-yardage situations against Indianapolis a week ago. Some had expected Morris to return based on his participation in practice this week, but he'll instead spend the afternoon in street clothes.

The Patriots' defense, though, received some good news: Both Tully Banta-Cain and Ty Warren are active despite injuries that limited them in practice this week. Banta-Cain didn't practice at all until Friday thanks to the groin injury that knocked him out in the first quarter against the Colts, and Warren missed the Colts game with an ankle injury.

The rotation along the defensive line will be interesting to watch: Warren is and has always been a starter, but the Patriots seem to be liking the play of rookie Myron Pryor more and more. It wouldn't be surprising to see Pryor, Wilfork and Warren all on the field at the same time in a 3-4 scheme -- or for Pryor and Wilfork to play together at defensive tackle with Banta-Cain and Derrick Burgess flanking them.

One moderate surprise: Veteran cornerback Shawn Springs participated fully in practice all week and was listed as probable on the injury report, a sign a player is almost certainly going to play. The scratch might or might not be related to injury -- and it might be a sign of how far down on the depth chart Springs has fallen in the Patriots' defensive backfield.

Springs had his worst game of the season against Miami two weeks ago and was not active against Indianapolis. He's also not going to contribute as much on special teams as the younger and faster Terrence Wheatley, another possible reason for the decision.

Key matchups along the line of scrimmage

Bill Belichick loves to get immobile quarterbacks on the run. Heck, any good defensive coach loves to get immobile quarterbacks on the run. It's the best way to get even the most precise passers to start throwing uncharacteristic interceptions. The Colts, too, will be looking for ways to get to Tom Brady and get him out of the pocket and moving around -- just as Belichick and the Patriots will be trying to do to Peyton Manning.

With that in mind, here's a look -- with the help of ProFootballFocus.com -- at some of the key matchups along the line of scrimmage and the matchups each team hopes to exploit:

Getting to Peyton Manning
* OLB Tully Banta-Cain against LT Charlie Johnson.
Johnson, a fourth-year left tackle, surrendered two sacks and five quarterback pressures in a miserable game against Mario Williams and the Houston Texans a week ago. For the season, Johnson has allowed 17 quarterback pressures in eight games and ranks near the bottom among offensive tackles.

Banta-Cain, meanwhile, has been a revelation as a pass-rushing linebacker. He ranks with the best in the league in hits on the quarterback -- only Anthony Spencer, Aaron Kampman, DeMarcus Ware and Lamarr Woodley have more. Overall, he ranks as the third-best 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL this season behind only Harrison and Ware.

* DE Mike Wright against LG Ryan Lilja
Lilja has tended to perform better this season as a run-blocker, but he's had his two best games in pass protection in the last two weeks. He allowed zero sacks and zero quarterback pressures against the Texans.

Wright saw his role diminished by the emergence of Myron Pryor and didn't have a spectacular game against the Dolphins when the injury to Jarvis Green bumped him back into the starting lineup. Against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, however, Wright was the best pass-rusher the Patriots had, recording two sacks, one hit on the quarterback and two other quarterback pressures.

Getting to Tom Brady
* DE Dwight Freeney against LT Sebastian Vollmer
With Matt Light unlikely to play, duty on the Colts' pass-rushing demon falls to Vollmer, a rookie who has handled himself awfully well so far this season. He actually has the third-best rating among Patriots' offensive linemen and has had three straight impressive games since he took over as the starter.

But he hasn't yet played against Freeney, who has 10 sacks, nine hits on the quarterback and a whopping 26 pressures so far this season. He's been the best 4-3 defensive end in the NFL so far this season -- and he's the toughest test Vollmer has faced yet.

* DE Robert Mathis against right tackle Nick Kaczur and right tackle Steve Neal
Statistically, Kaczur and Neal have been the Patriots' two best pass-blocking offensive linemen, though Kaczur seems to have stumbled of late in that department. Neal has spent the season as the Patriots' most consistent offensive player -- but that means he often finds himself standing around with not much to do as opposing teams opt not to go after him on passing downs.

Mathis almost certainly will go after Kaczur -- and if he can wreak half the havoc on Kaczur that he did on Arizona right tackle Levi Brown in Week 3 (one sack, three quarterback hits, eight quarterback pressures), Brady might be in trouble.

* Colts linebackers against Laurence Maroney
As frustrating as it's been for Patriots fans to watch Maroney run the ball, he's actually been worse this season when he's been trying to block for Brady. If the Colts send a blitzer that's assigned to Maroney, that blitzer might not have much issue getting to Brady.

Why Steve Neal is the Patriots' first-half MVP

A funny thing happens when opposing teams line up with three defensive linemen in passing situations: None of the rushers ever seem to go up against Stephen Neal.

They attack Matt Light at left tackle. They attack Nick Kaczur at right tackle. They attack Dan Koppen in the middle. They even sometimes go after Logan Mankins at left guard.

But they never seem to go after Neal.

And for good reason, apparently: According to ProFootballFocus.com, a site that breaks down each player each week and awards grades on each play, Neal has been the best offensive guard in the NFL so far this season and, according to their point system, the Patriots' most valuable player on offense or defense.

The leaderboard:
Neal, RG, 17 points
Vince Wilfork, NT, 14.3 points
Tom Brady, QB, 12.5 points
Tully Banta-Cain, OLB, 10.5 points
Nick Kaczur, RT, 6.5 points

"I'm going to have to knock on some wood now," Neal said with a chuckle. "I'm just trying to get out there and practice just as hard as I can and go out there and play as hard as I can. Whatever happens, happens. I can't control it."

A look at the film from the Patriots' game against Denver -- according to the crew at PFF, Neal's best game of the season -- reveals that Neal consistently handled defensive tackles and defensive ends one-on-one. When asked to run-block, he consistently steered his assigned defenders away from the play. When asked to pass-block, he did that, too. He even got out on a couple of screens and threw a key block to spring Sammy Morris for a big gain.

It's tough to measure the effectiveness of offensive linemen without breaking down every play. The PFF crew, though, breaks down every play -- and it gives us a pretty good idea of how the Patriots' offensive linemen stack up across the NFL:

Centers
1. Nick Mangold, Jets: 21.5 points
2. Jake Grove, Dolphins: 12.1 points
3. Shaun O'Hara, Giants, 10.3 points
7. Dan Koppen, Patriots, 6.2 points

Guards
1. Neal, Patriots: 17 points
2. Jahri Evans, Saints: 16.3 points
3. Evan Mathis, Bengals: 14.2 points
35. Logan Mankins, Patriots: minus-0.4 points
(Mankins was charged with a minus-5.2 against Tampa Bay. Four of those negative points were penalty-related.)

Tackles
1. Joe Thomas, Browns: 14.5 points
2. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Jets: 11.7 points
3. Vernon Carey, Dolphins: 10.1 points
6. Nick Kaczur, Patriots, 6.5 points
(Kaczur has been far from well-rounded: He was credited with a 7.8 on pass-blocking but a minus-1.8 on run-blocking.)
7. Sebastian Vollmer, Patriots, 6.4 points
45. Matt Light, Patriots, minus-3.8
(Light was charged with a minus-4.3 against Baltimore.)

The Patriots have had a terrific offensive line throughout their run of dominance this decade -- and along with Pro Bowler Matt Light, Neal has been a constant throughout.

But this season might be the line's best season yet. Brady has been sacked just eight times through seven games and is on pace for a career-low 18 sacks this season.

"Our job is to block for the running back and to not get the quarterback massacred back there," Neal said. "If we're not doing a good job, we're going to hear about it from you guys -- and everybody. We've got to go out there and do our jobs the best we can. I'm not going to catch any touchdowns, so I've got to block."