By BARRY WILNER
AP Football Writer

There's never really a good time for the New York Jets to face
the Patriots. Since Bill Belichick became New England's coach in
2000, the Jets are 7-13 against their rivals from Foxborough.

Many of the games have been contentious - remember Spygate and
the Eric Mangini-Belichick non-handshakes - and Belichick and
current Jets coach Rex Ryan aren't exactly buddies. It won't
help Bill B's mood, either, that New York won 16-9 in Week 2.

Not that Belichick's dour demeanor has been anything close to
cheery since last Sunday's late-game gamble backfired in
Indianapolis, and the Patriots fell 35-34 to Peyton Manning and
the Colts.

So laying it on the Jets (4-5) even harder than usual might be
on the mind of Belichick and the Patriots (6-3), if not to just
about salt away the AFC East then to ease the memories from
Indy.

"I'm worried about the Jets," Tom Brady said. "I think I'd
talked a lot about the Colts game and I think we've all got to
move forward and understand that we're playing a great opponent,
one that really gave our offense a lot of problems the last time
we played them and that has a lot of good players."

The Jets also have problems on both sides of the line. Their
running game is strong, but rookie Mark Sanchez is going through
the expected struggles of a first-year quarterback. Their
aggressive defense was rolled over by Jacksonville for a winning
drive last weekend.

And now they have some ticked off Patriots to contend with.

Also Sunday, it's San Diego at Denver, Indianapolis at
Baltimore, New Orleans at Tampa Bay, Cincinnati at Oakland,
Seattle at Minnesota, Pittsburgh at Kansas City, Washington at
Dallas, Arizona at St. Louis, Atlanta at N.Y. Giants,
Philadelphia at Chicago, San Francisco at Green Bay, Buffalo at
Jacksonville and Cleveland at Detroit.

Tennessee is at Houston on Monday night.

The weekend began with Miami winning 24-17 at Carolina on
Thursday night.

San Diego (6-3) at Denver (6-3)=

This all seems so familiar.

The Broncos take a big lead in the AFC West, then squander it as
the Chargers stop underachieving and begin playing up to their
talent level. Then they meet with first place at stake.

It happened that way in 2008, and the Chargers won the finale to
steal the division. San Diego has won four in a row, while
Denver has dropped three straight heading into a Mile High
faceoff.

Denver has scored only 16 points more than it has allowed, while
the Chargers have a 35-point edge. The Broncos could be without
quarterback Kyle Orton, and backup Chris Simms was very rusty at
Washington.

The Chargers got their running game in gear against
Philadelphia, and their passing game hasn't missed a beat.
Perhaps most significantly, they're making some key plays on
defense again.


Indianapolis (9-0) at Baltimore (5-4)=

If the Ravens play anything like they did in Cleveland,
particularly in the first half, they won't stop the Colts'
express. Peyton Manning is one of the few quarterbacks who tends
to do well against the Baltimore defense, which will be without
key linebacker/DE Terrell Suggs (right knee).

Following that gritty, if somewhat fortuitous, comeback against
New England, the Colts should be feeling rather spry. They are
9-0 for the third time in five years, and have a
franchise-record 18 consecutive regular-season victories. A win
here gives them the second-longest streak behind New England's
21 that included the 16-0 mark in 2007.

"We can't be in any better spot, that's a given," said Jim
Caldwell, the most successful rookie coach in the modern era.
"But the fact of the matter is there's still a lot of work to be
done. If you take a peek in the rearview mirror, there are some
teams behind us, but not very far behind us, in our division
even."


New Orleans (9-0) at Tampa Bay (1-8)=

Suddenly, the "perfect season" talk in Nawlins has quieted down
as the Saints have struggled the past month - and not against
the toughest opponents. Of course, for these Saints struggling
means that they haven't clinched games by the end of the third
quarter.

Reggie Bush stayed home to rest a knee injury and won't get to
test the Buccaneers' suspect run defense. The Saints have also
been vulnerable to the run without defensive tackle Sedrick
Ellis (knee), who is missing his fourth straight game. No
matter. As long as QB Drew Brees' shoulder is OK the Saints
should be fine.


Cincinnati (7-2) at Oakland (2-7)=

The old Bungles, uh, Bengals, would be expected to flop here and
begin a downward trend back toward oblivion. These most
decidedly are not those Bengals, and Cincinnati has a fast track
to a division title and perhaps home-field advantage for at
least one playoff round.

Cincy needs to keep on task, even if the opponent is Oakland,
which has no offense and can't stop the run. If Bengals newcomer
Larry Johnson suits up, he could terrorize the team he excelled
against while with the Chiefs.


Seattle (3-6) at Minnesota (8-1)=

This one could get ugly, considering the problems Seattle has on
the offensive line and the way the Vikings get after
quarterbacks. Matt Hasselbeck, a disciple of and good friend to
Brett Favre, might get very familiar with Jared Allen, Kevin
Williams and Ray Edwards.

Minnesota seems to be in high gear offensively every week, with
the Favre-Sidney Rice combination reminding folks of
Favre-Sharpe and Favre-Driver.


Pittsburgh (6-3) at Kansas City (2-7)=

Even though their chances to win the AFC North are wobbly after
being swept by Cincinnati, the defending champions remain a
logical choice for a playoff berth. But they don't play very
well without brilliant safety Troy Polamalu, and he has knee
issues again. Plus, their running game regressed last week after
looking dynamic behind Rashard Mendenhall.

Kansas City has victories over Washington and Oakland, not
exactly opponents in the Steelers' neighborhood. The Chiefs do
protect the ball better than Pittsburgh (plus-1 turnover margin
to minus 3) and might have found a runner to replace Larry
Johnson in Jamaal Charles, whose 44-yard TD rush was the first
of his career.


Washington (3-6) at Dallas (6-3)=

The renewal of one of the NFL's most intense rivalries, with
Washington fresh from its best game of the season and Dallas
coming off perhaps its worst.

Washington has a solid defense, but struggles with the ball and
might not have RB Clinton Portis (concussion). The Skins beat
Denver last week without him, with Ladell Betts rushing for 114
yards and a score.

The Cowboys appeared to have a stranglehold on the NFC East,
then stunk out Lambeau Field. Center Andre Gurode faces DT
Albert Haynesworth for first time since Haynesworth stomped on
his head in 2006 game.


Arizona (6-3) at St. Louis (1-8)=

Many, if not most, of the fans in the stands will be there to
see Kurt Warner's return to where he guided the Greatest Show on
Turf to two NFC crowns and one Super Bowl victory. Warner is
doing quite nicely in the desert now, and the Cardinals are 4-0
on the road.

St. Louis is getting better, with a victory and a close loss to
the perfect Saints in the last two games. The Rams' best chance
is to let Steven Jackson run wild, as he has for much of the
year.


Atlanta (5-4) at N.Y. Giants (5-4)=

Michael Turner's sprained right ankle could derail Atlanta's
playoff chances, although backup Jason Snelling has performed
well. If it's windy in the Meadowlands, Matt Ryan might not be
able to carry the offense, though the Giants can be vulnerable
against tight ends and the Falcons have one of the all-time
greats in Tony Gonzalez.

New York's four-game slide came after the level of competition
was ratcheted up. The tough schedule continues almost until
January, too, so the Giants need to come off their bye inspired
and efficient.


Tennessee (3-6) at Houston (5-4), Monday night=

For once, the Texans can actually think about a playoff chase.
Coming off their bye, it begins this week against the
revitalized Titans and Houston product Vince Young, once the
pride of Nashville while winning Offensive Rookie of the Year
honors - and perhaps headed that way again. Young is 3-0 since
replacing Kerry Collins as Tennessee's starting quarterback,
mainly because RB Chris Johnson has been unstoppable.

For Houston to be taken seriously, it must win here and not be
caught looking to next Sunday's matchup with the
division-leading Colts.


Philadelphia (5-4) at Chicago (4-5)=

A second straight prime-time game for the Bears, who hardly
deserve one after their performance in Candlestick Park. The
Eagles are third in the NFL with 15 picks, and Jay Cutler
doesn't seem, well, picky about who intercepts him.

Philly fell far behind in San Diego before rallying, still lost,
and might be without star RB Brian Westbrook (concussion) for a
while. Because neither side can run effectively, watch for
Donovan McNabb to put up as many passes at Cutler.


San Francisco (4-5) at Green Bay (5-4)=

Both teams reversed fortunes last week, the Packers most
impressively by manhandling Dallas. The way the defenses stepped
up in Green Bay and San Francisco bodes well.

Now, about those offenses. Somehow, the Packers must protect
Aaron Rodgers better - they've allowed 41 sacks - but the Niners
don't have an outstanding pass rusher. San Francisco is getting
rookie wideout Michael Crabtree into the mix nicely, but
quarterback Alex Smith remains unpredictable if not totally
unreliable.


Buffalo (3-6) at Jacksonville (5-4)=

The coaching change in Buffalo hardly was surprising, although
elevating defensive coordinator Perry Fewell might seem strange
because the Bills need a hearty boost on offense.

Jacksonville is coming off a last-second win at the Jets that
featured Maurice Jones-Drew's kneeldown at the New York 1 to set
up the winning field goal. The Jags have won three straight at
home.


Cleveland (1-8) at Detroit (1-8)=

Aside from fans stuck with tickets to this one, we should feel
sorry for Don Criqui and Randy Cross, the CBS announcers
assigned to describe the, uh, action.

At least nobody can call this season a low point for the Lions.
As for the once-proud Browns: It doesn't get much worse.