01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, November 29, 2005

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- The saving grace is in the standings, and the remaining schedule for the Patriots.

New England, despite getting toasted by the Chiefs, 26-16, on the road Sunday, still leads its division. The Patriots' record is a so-so 6-5, but that happens to be two games better than Buffalo and Miami in the AFC East Division, tied for the second slot at a woeful 4-7.

Of New England's final games, four are against division rivals -- two at home [the Jets Sunday, the Dolphins on Jan. 1] and two on the road [at Buffalo Dec. 11 and at the Jets Dec. 26]. The other game is a home contest against Tampa Bay on Dec. 17.

"We're not where we want to be, but we worked hard for those six wins," said wide receiver/return man Tim Dwight. "It's frustrating not competing the way we would like, but we have five games left. We'll see what can happen with that."

"What we've done so far has gotten us to 6-5 and first in the division," added linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. "The season does not stop tomorrow. We have to continue to try to improve and play better. We have to play with intensity and excitement and have some fun, starting with [Sunday's] game."

The Jets have had injury problems of their own, forcing them to use five quarterbacks, down to Brooks Bollinger for Sunday's game. New York lost a tough game to New Orleans, the game coming down to the final play, as had the Patriots' game against the Saints the previous week, with New England winning.

"I think that [the similar games] means we're in a very competitive situation with the Jets, like it always is in this division," said coach Bill Belichick. In defense of Brady

While losing a game is unsettling, it's even worse to see star quarterback Tom Brady appear mortal. He threw four interceptions, tying a career-high.

But don't expect anyone on the Patriots to point the finger at Brady for the setback in Kansas City.

"It wasn't just Tom Brady out there," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "It's up to all of us to play well."

Of the four picks, three were first touched by the Pats. The first two were a bit high, deflecting off the fingertips of Deion Branch and Troy Brown, respectively. The fourth one eluded Dwight late in the fourth quarter, squirting out of his hands and winding up in Sammy Knight's, killing the Pats' last-gasp comeback bid.

"Tom is Tom," said Dwight, dismissing the notion that Brady "lost" the game for the Pats.

"I should have had that one," added Dwight, who caught five passes for a team-high 76 yards. "I was trying to take off before I had it. I knew it was late and I was trying to make a play. As a receiver, all you can ask from your quarterback is for him to put the ball in your reach. You expect to catch that ball. You want to make the catch, especially in the last quarter. I was disappointed after the game."

The blame game

Defensive back Ellis Hobbs didn't have a good view of the 52-yard touchdown bomb Kansas City's Trent Green aired out to Dante Hall early in the third quarter that put the Chiefs on top, 26-3.

He needed binoculars to look down the field to see Hall haul in the pass, and that wasn't a good thing because he had coverage on the Chiefs' speedster. Hobbs bit on the play-action, and Hall left him in the dust, with safety Mike Stone well behind the play, too.

Maybe, though, the mistake wasn't all on him, hinted Hobbs.

"I'm not going to get into what type of coverage we were in, but the players involved, the coaches, they know what's going on back there," said Hobbs. "I'll leave it at that. It happened. It's over. Let's move on."