The Denver Broncos gameplan against the New England Patriots

The Pats are going to be shorthanded on the offensive side of the ball in this one, so I think this will be a game where we see a lot of heavy sets from New England, and a lot of LeGarrette Blount. There's no exception. It's always cold, your locker room could be bugged, and the foghorn that echoes through Gillette Stadium might as well be a chorus of violins for visiting teams. His quarterback rating of 127.1 was quite impressive for his first ever National Football League start as he was incredibly efficient under center and delivered nicely for his Broncos. Their high-flying offense didn't translate well in the frigid cold, and weird things happened in Foxboro. He caught his first pass as a Bronco from Osweiler in a blowout loss against Kansas City two weeks ago.

Yeah, it's Bill Belichick vs. Gary Kubiak and Tom Brady vs. Brock Osweiler I, but those aren't the matchups the Orange and Blue should be concerned about. The first game was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions, although in essence only one of the teams seemed to turn up as the Lions routed the Eagles 45-14. Both players, however, are likely to be focused on by the Broncos defense.

New England has to prepare for the NFL's top-rated defense.

"I don't think he ages", said tight end Rob Gronkowski.

It's Patriots Week, and here in Broncos Country - where dominating the AFC West has become an annual rite of passage - that's become the Week. Local forecasters are projecting freezing temperatures and snow showers during Sunday's game.

The Patriots (10-0) have rode to their unbeaten record using the arm of quarterback Tom Brady and a seemingly unstoppable offense. Since 2001, the Patriots have the best November record in the entire National Football League at 43-15 (.741). Denver has traditionally been a tough place for the Patriots to win where Denver holds a sizeable 19-9 advantage including three playoff wins. New England owns 11 division titles since the 2002 realignment. The Broncos know this and will try to take him away, but the Patriots simply must find a way to get him the ball.

The 49ers have another divisional game, this time at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Chemistry, trust and timing should only get better with practice.

QB Brock Osweiler was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 20-of-27, 250-yard, two-touchdown performance in his starting debut at Chicago last week.

Today, the two teams meet again, in a game that projects to be similar to the one played in 2003: a close battle, which could be decided by one decision or play. But he isn't expected to play this Sunday night, and the Broncos aren't the same without him. That production has ballooned over the last month to an average of seven grabs for 101 yards per game. The dropoff occurred right about when Ware's back injury started to flare up. "Very good in the kicking game, got a lot of team speed, good specialists, made a lot of big plays on defense and special teams this year", said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Elsewhere around Dove Valley, the views on Ware's availability were less optimistic. The Seahawks are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture, but can basically be assured of a playoff spot thanks to the mediocrity of the National Football League this year with a 10-win season. Are the Denver Broncos anxious to get him back in that role? He's due for a key interception.