While Mike Singletary became the latest NFL coach fired for turning a promising season into an underachieving fiasco, Bill Belichick added another chapter to what might become the best coaching job of his Hall of Fame career.

Missing four starters and playing with several more who were battling the flu and had to be given IVs during the game, the Patriots routed the Bills 34-3 to go 13-2 and clinch home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

"It's been a theme all season," tight end Alge Crumpler told reporters after the game. "We plug a guy in and the guy comes in and plays well. That's what this team has been all about."

To all the apologists for banged-up teams such as the Vikings, we present the New England Patriots, who have used an average of 40 different starters per season since Belichick created this empire in 2001.

During the 2003 season, the Patriots won a Super Bowl while being forced to start 42 players. That was a record for a division champion. It stood until 2005, when the Patriots broke it with 45. In 2008, they went 11-5 with a franchise-record 14 players on injured reserve, including Tom Brady, who missed 15 1/2 games.

By comparison, the Vikings have used 40 starters this season, yet they were dead in the water before Thanksgiving, when Brad Childress was fired following a 31-3 loss to the Packers at home.

The 2010 season began with most of us in love with the Vikings, Cowboys, Chargers or some other team that's probably flopped far short of Super Bowl XLV by now.

As for the Patriots, well, they were considered too young and suspect on defense. They had too many rookies and free agents. They had left guard Logan Mankins, who would hold out for half the season. And their injuries already were mounting early on with Ty Warren, Leigh Bodden and Kevin Faulk dropping because of season-ending injuries.

As on all teams, the injuries continued. Stephen Neal? Done. Stephen Gostkowski? Done. Nick Kaczur? Done.

Sunday, Ryan Wendell made his NFL starting debut and became the third New England player to start at right guard this season. No problem. The Patriots ran 41 times for 217 yards.

Defensively, the Patriots started ends Landon Cohen and Eric Moore. Cohen was signed off the street four days earlier. And Moore had joined a few weeks earlier after being signed out of the United Football League. No problem. The Patriots adjusted and went on to hold an opponent to fewer than 10 points for the third time in four weeks.

Just about everything Belichick has done this season has turned golden. For example:

• He traded running back Laurence Maroney, a former first-round draft pick, to Denver for a fourth-round pick. Five days later, he signed undersized Danny Woodhead off the street. Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis -- two undrafted players -- have since a combined 1,456 yards and 17 touchdowns on 304 carries.

• He traded Randy Moss and his poor attitude to the Vikings for a third-round draft pick. Then he used a fourth-round pick to bring Deion Branch and his good attitude back from Seattle. The Patriots are 10-1 since.

• He went 6-1 with Mankins holding out and 7-1 after Mankins returned.

• After losing to the Jets 28-14 on Sept. 19, he beat the Jets 45-3 on Dec. 6.

• His team hasn't turned the ball over in a league-record seven consecutive games. With just nine giveaways on the year, the Patriots should break the season record for fewest turnovers (13) set in 2008 by the Dolphins and Giants.

• And, oh yeah, because he owns Carolina's No. 2 draft pick, Belichick also profited from the Panthers clinching the league's worst record on Sunday. That gave the Patriots the first pick of the second round and three of the top 33 picks in 2011. In return, the Panthers got a third-round pick in this year's draft that they used on Armanti Edwards, who has played in one game this season.