A huge game for Patriots to contend with

The Patriots know another loss to Joey Porter (above) and the Dolphins would create a two-game gap between the teams. (Jeffrey M. Boan/Associated Press)

FOXBOROUGH - It's one of Bill Belichick's most trusted bromides: You want your team to be playing its best football in November and December.

November normally has been the month when the Patriots distinguish themselves, but this season it has the potential to be the month in which they extinguish their playoff hopes. The Patriots sit at 6-4 in the AFC East, a game behind the first-place New York Jets and deadlocked in second with the surprising Miami Dolphins.

The Patriots face the Dolphins today at Dolphin Stadium in what is a must-win game that closes out a stretch of three straight divisional showdowns for New England. Miami routed the Patriots, 38-13, in Week 3, and another loss by New England would give Miami a season sweep for the first time since 2000 and the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker, and sink the Patriots to 2-3 in the division.

Also, a loss today would be the Patriots' third of the month and guarantee them a losing record in November for the first time since 2000.

Since the Patriots became the Patriots as we know them in 2001, the first of their three Super Bowl championship seasons, they never have lost more than two games during the month. They own a 65-16 record, including playoffs, after Nov. 1 since 2001.

Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said the Patriots realize what is at stake today, and he said it's going to take nothing less than their A game to score a W.

"This is what you live for," said Wilfork. "Games in November and December determine where you're going to be in February or January. We got our hands full, but we're looking forward to the challenge."

Miami, winner of four straight, also realizes the magnitude of today's matchup. Following a 1-15 season, the Dolphins, under first-year coach Tony Sparano, have put themselves in position to be a playoff contender, bunched up with Baltimore, Indianapolis, and the Patriots in the wild-card hunt at 6-4.

A win essentially would create a two-game gap between them and the Patriots, and the Dolphins have an easier schedule down the stretch with games against St. Louis, San Francisco, and Kansas City.

"We know that we need this victory to move forward in our season, and they feel the same way," said Dolphins wide receiver Greg Camarillo.

This is a measuring-stick game for Miami, even if the Patriots are not the powerhouse they were expected to be before their season was submarined by a gaggle of injuries to key players.

"I told our team the other day that, in my mind, our [division], in order to get where you need to be, the [division] runs through the Patriots," said Sparano. "I understand where the Jets are, but until the end of season comes, one way or the other, the [division] runs through the Patriots."

All the hype about Miami's "Wildcat" offense and Joey Porter's wild mouth obscures the fact that both teams, regardless of scheme, personnel, or personality, will be scratching and clawing for a win that could define their season.

Camarillo said he expects the game to have a playoff-type atmosphere, even though he and most of the callow Dolphins don't even know what a playoff atmosphere is. The stakes of the game would seem to favor the Patriots, who have played in some of the biggest games of the decade.

With Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney, Rodney Harrison, and Adalius Thomas all sidelined by injuries, and linebacker Tedy Bruschi (knee) and defensive end Richard Seymour (toe) at less than 100 percent, the Patriots appear to have lost some of their mystique. But inside the locker room, they are conceding nothing.

"This locker room is still the locker room when last year we were undefeated and years before that when we won championships," said Wilfork. "It's the same locker room; you just have different faces. [We're] very confident.

"We're so used to winning around here, I think that sometimes the fans and the media get lost in that because we've won around here quite a bit. We have four losses; it's not the end of the world.

"Nobody is telling us our season is over, because if they do tell us that, I'll tell them something and it's not nice. We're very confident. We have to win this week against a tough division [opponent] and move forward from that and the week after that do the same thing. It's tough, but that's NFL football."

It won't get any easier for the Patriots next Sunday when they close out November with a home game against the AFC North-leading Steelers.

November is separation time in the NFL, and the Patriots can't afford to be left behind. As the cliché goes, the Patriots have their backs against the wall.

"Yeah, you could say that," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs. "You could say it in a whole bunch of different ways, but we desperately need this win. They do, too. It should be a great divisional matchup."