Patriots all right on left coast The AFC East-leading Patriots and Jets both had to play the 49ers, Chargers, Seahawks and Raiders on the road this season. The Patriots asked for and were granted a schedule in which those four games were split into a pair of back-to-back sets two months apart. Coach Bill Belichick then arranged for the Patriots to stay on the West Coast the week between the games. The plan worked. New England beat Oakland 49-26 on Sunday to finish 3-1 in West Coast games. The Jets, meanwhile, are 0-3 on the West Coast heading into Sunday's game at Seattle. The Jets lost at San Diego on Sept. 22, Oakland on Oct. 19 and San Francisco on Dec. 7. In other words, Belichick even wins when it comes to schedule requests.
Left coast all wrong on East Coast Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland and Arizona are a combined 1-15 in games played in the Eastern time zone. The NFC West champion Cardinals take their 0-4 East Coast record into New England on Sunday. They have been outscored by a combined 60 points (155-95) on the East Coast.
Chiefs' sack total reaches ... NINE!? Ya think the Chiefs miss Jared Allen? They went four games without a sack before getting three in Sunday's 22-21 loss to the Chargers. Their nine sacks on the season are 5 1/2 fewer than Allen has with the Vikings. Kansas City is on pace for 10 sacks. The NFL record for fewest sacks in a season is 11 by the 1982 Baltimore Colts. The Chiefs finish with Miami at home and the Bengals on the road.
Division leaders shuffled ... again The NFL's current eight-division format began in 2002. In every year since then, at least four of the divisions have had new champions the following season. The highest turnover was six in 2003, but it could be seven this season. Four defending division champions -- the Packers, Seahawks, Cowboys and Colts -- already have been eliminated from winning their divisions. So far, only the Steelers have successfully defended their division title (AFC North). The Buccaneers of the NFC South and the Chargers of the AFC West trail in their respective divisions by two games with two to play.
