One hurdle left between Patriots and perfect season

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts: Only a Super Bowl XLII victory against the New York Giants now stands between the New England Patriots and a perfect, unbeaten season.

"It's not complete unless we win (in Phoenix on February 3)," safety Rodney Harrison told reporters after the Pats eliminated the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in Sunday's AFC Championship game to take their record to 18-0.

"We've worked extremely hard and we believe in one another. It's a tremendous ride we're on and we're trying to not take anything for granted."

New England, eyeing its fourth NFL title in seven years, had to survive a big scare against the Giants in its regular-season finale, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to post a 38-35 victory.

"It's been one week at a time for us," said Pats coach Bill Belichick about the quest for a perfect season. "I think there will be a time and place to sit back and reflect on it."

Against San Diego, the Patriots pushed their win total past the mark of 17 posted in 1972 by the Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten and untied on the way to the championship.

The last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, following the 1990 season, Belichick and New York head coach Tom Coughlan were assistant coaches under Bill Parcells.

Belichick was defensive coordinator and Coughlan coached the wide receivers.

Although winning has become routine, the resourceful Patriots have been pressed to find different routes to victory as the season has gone on.

Offensive juggernaut

The team started out as an offensive juggernaut, winning its first eight games by an average of almost 27 points behind the sharpshooting throws of quarterback Tom Brady to a new crew of top-flight receivers led by Randy Moss.

Brady set a season record for touchdown passes, Moss created a new TD mark for receptions and New England established a team record for most points in a season.

During the second half of the season and in the playoffs, games have become tighter with the Pats winning three times by three points and another by four.

Rival teams began concentrating on double-teaming Moss to negate the threat downfield while opposing offences started to find soft spots in New England's veteran defense.

The pass-happy Pats have turned increasingly to the ground game to balance their attack, with Laurence Maroney gaining 122 yards in each of the last two playoff wins.

New England switched gears on Sunday after an uncharacteristic three interceptions thrown by Brady, milking the running game as it used up the last nine minutes, 13 seconds of the AFC title showdown.

"The great thing about this team is its resiliency, its determination, its ability to battle those adversities that come up during the course of the game, like turnovers," said tight end Kyle Brady.

"It's been one of those things that sets us apart."

Agencies

(China Daily 01/23/2008 page22)