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The Patriots' march to a perfect season continues after surviving a 31-28 game against the Philadelphia Eagles' excellence defense.

A few thoughts on the game and the Patriots in general:

• I actually liked the fact that this game was close instead of the blowouts we've seen this season. It showed that the Pats can compete with a good team and overcome mistakes (of which there were many).


• It amazes me that there are some out there actually criticizing the Pats for NOT scoring more points against the Eagles ... seriously. You've GOT to be kidding me. All season we've heard that the Pats are running up the score ... oy vey.


• Is Pats running back Laurence Maroney hurt or not? His sporadic play is confusing and coach Bill Belichick keeps shrugging off questions about it. Hmmm ...


• Give the Eagles credit, they came in as 22+ underdogs for Sunday night's game and showed how ridiculous that spread really was. I was impressed.


• Speaking of impressed, Eagles back up QB A. J. Feeley had a career game (27 of 42, 345 yards, 3 TDs). But, it was the 3 INTs he threw ... if not for those, the Eagles may have handed the Pats their first loss of the season.


• And speaking of impressive, the Pats' cornerback, Asante Samuel, was amazing again Sunday night, picking off Freeley's second pass of the game and running it in for a TD. Daaaaamn ... Pats should re-sign him as soon as the season is done!


• The Pats D needs to start stepping up. While the line is good, the secondary can't seem to stop the run OR the pass. This doesn't bode well for the playoffs because if other teams defend the Pats the way the Eagles did, then the team may not be able to rely on scoring an absurd amount of points in order to win.


• At the risk of being a total homer, is it me or are NFL refs REALLY looking for phantom penalties? WR Randy Moss was tagged for a total BS pass interference call which negated a TD Sunday night ... wow. Even Al Michaels and John Madden couldn't believe it. And in the past few weeks, the Pats have been called for similar penalties on offense that even the announcers have said were questionable at best. Of course, if the Pats complain, everyone will think they're just whining ...


• Finally, I thought football analyst/guru Madden made two very good points towards the end of the game when he said that the Patriots showed why they are undefeated because they make the plays they need to make and WHEN they need to make them to win. He also said that Sunday's game vs. the Eagles would "provide a blueprint for other teams on how to handle the Patriots." Going to be VERY interesting to see how the teams on the Pats' remaining schedule (Ravens, Steelers, Jets, Miami and Giants) play them now. Guaranteed film of Sunday's game will be studied very heavily.