New England sports fans are still basking in the afterglow of the Boston Red Sox’s World Series title.

They’re excited that third baseman and World Series Most Valuable Player Mike Lowell has re-upped for another three years and they’re hoping General Manager Theo Epstein doesn’t trade away righthander Clay Buchholz, lefty Jon Lester and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for Minnesota Twins lefty Johan Santana.

Don’t worry, he won’t.

So now fans are trying to decide who to invite over to the Super Bowl party to watch the New England Patriots cap off a remarkable 19-0 season.

But Sunday night’s 31-28 Patriots win over Philadelphia should be wakeup call to those who expect the Patriots to breeze through the playoffs en route to a convincing Super Bowl win over Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.

A team can’t win a Super Bowl without an exceptional defense. And the Patriots do not have an exceptional defense now. The immortal A.J. Feeley and his offensive line proved that.

Without being pressured, Feeley had a field day at the expense of the Patriots linebackers and secondary.

He made it look easy. His receivers were wide open much of the time. There were cornerbacks who weren’t even in the same area code.

The Pats must manufacture a pass rush or any NFL quarterback can pick them apart.

The Pats weren’t able to muster one on Sunday night and it almost cost them their undefeated season.

The best defense is an efficient, ball-control offense and that is exactly what the Eagles had.

How do teams neutralize Tom Brady and one of the best offensive units of all time?

Keep them sitting on the bench on the Patriot sidelines.

The Patriots’ linebacking corps is good, knowledgeable and one of the most experienced units in the NFL.

It is also old and can be exploited if the defensive line doesn’t play well and create pressure on the quarterback.

It was if the Eagles knew what defenses the Patriots were going to use in every situation ahead of time.

Maybe they were using a camera to pick up the Pats’ signals.

Every team has its bumps in the road.

Just like tennis tournament champions who have to battle through a sub-par performance in an early round against an inferior opponent.

Teams simply have to find ways to win when they aren’t at their best.

The Pats have been tested twice and have come out on top: 24-20 over Indianapolis and the win over Philadelphia.

One thing for certain about the Patriots is that coach Bill Belichick and his staff have spent countless hours going over the tape of the Philadelphia game to figure out what went wrong.

They know their future opponents will emulate the Eagles’ game plan now that a blueprint for success has been established.

They will double team Randy Moss to take away the long strike and force Brady to throw short passes to his other receivers. Brady will take what he’s given and move the chains. He won’t get impatient.

One of the keys to success is being able to adapt to all circumstances. The Pats are certainly capable of doing that.

If the Pats shore up their defense, they should be OK. But even if they don’t win the Super Bowl, we still have the Celtics.

Did I just say what I think I did?

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews. net.