For the first time since their perfect regular season of 2007, the New England Patriots are 7-0, having pounded the Miami Dolphins, 36-7, on Thursday night.
With a two-and-a-half-game lead in the A.F.C. East, the Patriots look fairly certain to win their division and already seem a virtual lock for the playoffs in a conference in which the team with the sixth-best record (the Oakland Raiders) is 3-3.
New England is in such a comfortable position that Patriots lovers and loathers are starting to speculate about the prospect something more: another undefeated season.