Yet after this Sunday's latest road debacle, the Patriots no longer have any excuses. Playing an inconsistent Miami team teetering on the brink of extinction, New England flushed away another winnable game on the road, dropping its record away from Gillette Stadium to 1-5 and leaving the outcome of the AFC East race in doubt.

Miami and the New York Jets -- both 6-6 -- now trail the Patriots by just one game in the division race with four games remaining, which is plenty of time for New England to lose control of its lead. After all, the Patriots still have two road games left to play.

To further illustrate how bad the Patriots have been on the road this year, consider this: Their only "road" win came at Wembley Stadium in London against the Buccaneers. Minus the fact they still had to travel, sleep in hotel rooms and get accustomed to a foreign turf in less than 24 hours, this hardly qualified as a true road game, especially since the majority of the crowd consisted of Patriots fans.

Also, the Patriots have the second-worst road record in the AFC ahead of only the Browns, who are 1-6 away from home.

Assuming the Patriots hold on to win the AFC East, their inability to win on the road could prevent them advancing.

Indianapolis has all but wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Even with a division title, the Patriots are now in danger of missing out on a first-round bye since they trail 9-3 Cincinnati by two games for the No. 2 seed. If the current positioning holds up, that means the Patriots would have to win three games to get to the Super Bowl, with perhaps two of them on the road barring any major upsets in the divisional round.

Given New England's track record on the road this season, it's hard to imagine the team pulling off such a tremendous feat. Only time will tell, but a win two weeks from now at Buffalo would help quell some of those fears before the postseason begins in January.