A Tale Of Two Seasons: Patriots-Jets Could Determine AFC East Supremacy

Fourteen years ago, the 12-0 Chicago Bears and their vaunted "46" defense marched into Miami on a Monday night in December. Led by coordinator Buddy Ryan, they were chasing history, fueled by what was already considered one of the greatest defenses of all time. They played before I was born, but I've seen the tapes. They were animals. They were big, mean, and fast, and played with the kind of reckless abandon usually reserved for trapeze artists and British guys names "Bear." In the three games previous, they had allowed a grand total of three points. Total. Combined. Twelve quarters. One half of football later, they had already given up 31 as Dan Marino and the Dolphins exploited every inch of space afford to them, running up the score in a historic performance. It's the classic matchup: blitzing, aggressive defense versus an accurate, Hall-of-Fame quarterback with a quick release. While that game was perhaps the epitome of that type of matchup, fans wil...