Super Bowl champions look for quick turnaround

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Forget about returning to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots won't even make the playoffs if they don't rally from two of their worst games of the season.

The team that won all its games down the stretch a year ago is reeling from lopsided losses that took their playoff prospects out of their hands. Now they have less than a week to correct their many mistakes.

"For as much as we put into the season, going all the way back to the off-season program, to training camp, the practices, it comes down to one week and one game," coach Bill Belichick said Monday. "With the type of guys that we have on this team, I expect them to respond in a positive manner and meet that challenge."

That would be a switch.

They lost Sunday night to the New York Jets 30-17, after flopping in Tennessee 24-7 the previous Monday night.

In those games, the Patriots totaled 392 yards, one less than the Jets had by themselves. In three of their last four games, they've scored just one offensive touchdown. Even Tom Brady, who led them to the championship, is struggling.

"You throw the ball, try to find open guys and throw it to them," said Brady, who has totaled 267 yards passing the past two games. "If I didn't do that, then I will try to get better."

To win the AFC East, New England (8-7) must beat Miami (9-6) on Sunday while New York (8-7) loses to Green Bay. If all finish 9-7 the Jets win the division and the Patriots could get a wild-card if they win and Denver, San Diego and Cleveland all lose.

If the Patriots lose, they're eliminated.

"Every time I walk out on the field I think we're going to win and I think we're going to play well," Belichick said. "Of course, that doesn't happen 100 percent of the time."

It certainly didn't Sunday when Chad Pennington completed his first 11 passes, the Jets led 17-10 at halftime and the Patriots had just one decent drive.

Brady threw passes into the ground, backup cornerback Leonard Myers was burned as the replacement for injured Otis Smith and Pennington had plenty of time to throw.

"Anytime you get beat by 13 points like we did, there's certainly going to be room for improvement," Belichick said.

He doesn't plan to abandon the short pass, an increasingly ineffective staple of the Patriots offense. Opponents know it's coming.

"I don't think predictability's a bad thing," Belichick said. "The Lakers in basketball, they're going to get the ball to Shaquille in the low post. I can tell you that right now. So it comes down to being able to execute the things that you do well."

The Patriots have been hurt by injuries to linebacker Tedy Bruschi, wide receiver Deion Branch and Otis Smith. Bruschi missed the last three games, Branch the last two and Smith went on injured reserve before the Jets game.

They're also missing the breaks that used to go their way.

Last season, they beat Buffalo in overtime after receiver David Patten fumbled, but the Patriots kept the ball because his leg touched the ball while his head was out of bounds. And there was the overtime playoff win over Oakland in which the "tuck rule" turned an apparent fumble by Brady into an incompletion.

In the past two weeks, two big breaks went against them after they regained the momentum by scoring on the first series of the third quarter, then forced punts.

On the next play against Tennessee, Rich Coady returned an interception for a 24-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead. On the punt by New York, Troy Brown fumbled, the Jets recovered and John Hall's field goal gave them a 20-17 lead.

"One play after another, we just couldn't execute it the right way," Brady said. "There was no rhythm in the first half."

They have just a few days to find it. And it doesn't help that they're 3-7 against teams with winning records, like Miami.

"It's pretty clear-cut how the division's going to turn out based on a couple of games," Belichick said. "And our game's one of them."