Granted, the Cardinals were without one of their best players in Anquan Boldin, but with the weather out there today, Boldin's presence really wouldn't have made that much of a difference. Sure he's got game-changing talent, but Warner (6-of-18 for 30 yards... THIRTY YARDS!!!) had substantially more trouble getting the passing game going in the snow than Cassel did. In fact, Cassel probably played his second or third best game of the season stats-wise with 345 yards, 3 TDs and 19 rushing yards. Cassel easily gets the nod for player of the game here.

Honorable mentions go out to Sammy Morris (133 all-purpose yards), LaMont Jordan (78 yards, 2 TDs), Jabar Gaffney (5 catches, 90 yards), Wes Welker (7 catches, 68 yards, TD, and one damn fine snow angel) and Stephen Gostkowski. The Pats were understandably run-centric in the early goings as the snow was coming down fast, but if Morris and Jordan keep getting 30+ touches between them and putting up 150+ yards, Patriots detractors might start giving that running game some well-deserved credit. Gaffney was a perfect 5-for-5 before his first of two misses, which came at the end of the second half, and Welker continues to be the Pats' most consistent receiver. Gostkowski's 4-for-4 performance with field goals in this sloppy weather was very reassuring, and he set a new record for FGs by a Pats kicker. Good stuff.

Even Chris "Nice to see you. Why don't you have a seat over there?" Hanson had a respectable game with a 47-yard average on three punts. Really, the only thing you can be upset about is that 78-yard TD from Leinart to Fitzgerald, but with the game out of reach at that point, who cares?

With the Jets losing yesterday, the Pats' playoff hopes are still very much alive. The Fish won at KC in a wild one yesterday and the Ravens somehow went into the Cowboys' house and embarrassed the shit out of them on Saturday (blame the Dallas defense, which accumulated something like 35 penalties and had no answer for Le'Ron McClain and the immortal Willis McGahee), so it all comes down to next week's Jets at Dolphins game. Assuming a Pats win against Buffalo - which, let's be honest, is basically a foregone conclusion - the Pats make the playoffs if one of two scenarios comes true: the Ravens lose to the Jags (highliy unlikely considering Jacksonville is 5-10), or the Jets beat Miami in the Meadowlands next week.

I know these guys are all competitors and would never tank a game intentionally, but can't you see Mangini just effing us over by basically conceding the game and letting the Dolphins win? Let's hope the miniscule amount of sportsmanship and integrity he has left in him wins out and the Jets play the game of their lives next week.