Julian Edelman:

The X-Factor this week in the passing game is White; he’s been coming into his own in recent weeks in replacing Dion Lewis

the big news was the return to the Patriots practice this week of both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. They were both filmed (not so coincidentally), beside each other during warmups with a smiling Belichick behind them.

Brady has to go back to what the Patriots do best, move the chains and not take so many deep shots down the field with players that aren’t suited for that role.

Will Josh McDaniels stay patient enough to allow the running game to get going on Sunday night?

With the winter weather beginning to creep back in, the time is coming when the passing offenses begin to slow down and an effective running game becomes essential.

The Patriots committed the cardinal sin in all of sports; don’t ever, ever let an inferior team hang around, because it come back to bite you.

Philadelphia rookie CB Eric Rowe gets his first NFL start Sunday, and it against a New England team that since 2003 is 38-4 coming off a loss and is 52-8 in the month of December since 2001.

Look no further than the Patriots third-down percentage the past two games to see that the running game is slowing down the offense. New England is 5 for 28 on third down percentage the last two weeks including just 2 of 13 against Denver.

In the last five games, the Philly defense has allowed 828 yards on the ground an average of 165.6 yards per game. This is the time for Blount to get some yardage and take some pressure off the receivers.

Since realignment in 2002, the Pats own a stellar 45-10 record against NFC teams including a 3-0 record against the other teams from the NFC East this season.

Look for the Patriots to try to wear down this Eagles defense with much more Blount and Bolden carrying the ball this week in a similar offensive game plan as when they faced a fellow NFC East foe, the Redskins.

The Patriots added to their depth at wide receiver, running back and kick returner on Tuesday by signing WR Demaris Johnson and RB Trey Williams. Williams played at Texas A&M and for Danny Amendola’s dad in high school

Thru eleven games in 2015 the Philadelphia defense has been on the field for 83 minutes more than the offense.

The loss to the Denver Broncos was a minor one compared to the potential loss of Rob Gronkowski who was injured in the fourth quarter of the game on Sunday night

The reality is that NFL football is the ultimate team sport, nothing at all like individual sports such as boxing, golf or tennis. This leads to the question: which team in Sunday night’s feature game suffers more from injuries they are needing to overcome, the Patriots or Broncos?