FOXBORO, Mass. -- The beginning of crazy shopping lines. The end of Thanksgiving leftovers. The ubiquitous mugs of Jimmy Stewart and The Grinch.

All sure signs that December is here and November is a memory.

In New England, Bill Belichick's Patriots are quickly establishing a December tradition of their own that's just as important to the locals as the lighting of the Boston Common -- not losing.

After downing Buffalo 27-17 in the much-ballyhooed Bledsoe Bowl II on Sunday, the Pats are now 5-0 in their last five December contests and 7-2 in the Belichick Era. In fact, one would have to go all the way back to Christmas Eve of 2000 to find a Patriots loss (27-24 to Miami) during the last month of the year. And much like last season, when the upstart club ran the table in December (4-0) and rode a five-game winning streak into the new year, the Pats are looking like a team that is starting to peak.

	Tom Brady and David Patten celebrate a first-quarter touchdown.

In winning their third straight contest and fifth of the last six games, the Patriots utilized the formula that brought them success in 2001: spread the ball around on offense and confuse the opposing quarterback into making mistakes.

But on this day, it wasn't just a well-coached defense outsmarting Drew Bledsoe, as was the case in the 38-7 dismantling last month at Rich Stadium. This time around, they made Bledsoe look more like a rookie third-stringer than a shoe-in Pro Bowler and the man who defined the Patriots franchise for his first nine years in the league.

"I'm a little surprised he struggled so much," said fullback Larry Centers.

Bledsoe threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns on 32-for-51 passing, but was picked off four times and was hurried into making several errant passes. He never looked worse than in the second quarter when the Bills had the ball on the Patriot 2-yard line on a second-and-goal. Forced out of the pocket to his right, Bledsoe stayed focused on Jay Riemersma for too long. Though his tight end was blanketed in the end zone by Larry Izzo and Willie McGinest was rushing from the outside, Bledsoe tried to make a play rather than simply throwing the ball away.

The result was an easy pick for Tebucky Jones, and a severe tongue-lashing given to Bledsoe by himself immediately after the play.

"It's frustrating," said Bledsoe, who got a standing ovation from the home crowd when he took the field on Buffalo's first possession. "If I could have one back, it would be the one in the end zone. It was a big mistake. I should have thrown it out of the end zone. I think at that point we could have gotten it back to 17-7, it would have been an entirely different ballgame."

The fact that Tom Brady got the Patriots offense on the board with two touchdown passes before the end of the first quarter helped to limit Buffalo's options and force Bledsoe to press. But much of Bledsoe's problems, including his four interceptions, can be credited to the secondary of the Pats and the multitude of looks that defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel threw at him.

"Drew knows a lot of what we're going to do before we even do it, so we had to disguise some things," said middle linebacker Ted Johnson, who started in place of Tedy Bruschi.

Safeties Jones and Lawyer Milloy were active before each snap, and often blitzed from Bledsoe's blind side to aid the tremendous push that the defensive line was getting, most notably from Richard Seymour. The Pats were not reckless with their blitz, though, knowing that Peerless Price and Eric Moulds can light up the scoreboard if given too much man-to-man coverage. It was more about switching up coverages and staying out of situations where Buffalo could score in one or two plays as they did last Sunday against Miami.

"Their plan against us defensively is to force us to march it down the field without making mistakes, and that will continue to be their plan until we prove we can do that," said Bledsoe.

"We know if we don't give up the big play, it's tough to beat us," said Victor Green, who had eight tackles. "That's what we've been doing."

That was the case last season down the stretch when the defense didn't let up more than 16 points in the final five games. This time around, they haven't let up more than 17 points in the last three games.

Anyone sensing déjà vu?

"It's similar, sure" said center Damien Woody.

"It's beginning to snowball a bit (like last year)," added Seymour.

"We're doing the same things," said Jones, who also forced a fumble. "It's crunch time. We play every game like a playoff game."

Otis Smith, who single-handedly ended the Bills' late-game surge with a forced fumble and recovery on a completion to Price when it was still 20-10, credited the veterans for keeping the attitude the same in the locker room whether they're on a two-game losing streak or winning streak.

"(Veteran play) helps and it plays a major part in all this," said Smith. "Guys understand what they are doing and what they're responsibilities are on each and every play."

By using so many weapons on offense (10 different receivers caught at least one pass from Brady) and having a defense centered around several veteran role players such as Green, Johnson, Roman Phifer and Terrell Buckley, the group seems to pick up steam this time of the year rather than tire. Last year, the vets rallied the team around the fact that no one believed in them. This year, they use the exact opposite reasoning as their battlecry when they get together behind closed doors.

"We're the World Champs," said Buckley, who intercepted Bledsoe once. "Last year we were still underdogs and didn't get respect. So we can't take that same approach. We now take the approach that we're the champs and we need to always play like it. We have players who are professional day-in and day-out, which is a driving force."

That driving force has steered the Pats closer to another playoff berth after losing four straight in October and being in danger of missing out on the postseason. At 8-5 with a Monday Night Football battle against Tennessee next week and then two straight at home (N.Y. Jets and Miami), and a solid 3-1 division mark for tiebreaker purposes, the Patriots have their sights set on the playoffs.

"Why not us?" said Milloy.

Even though no one listened, that's what they were saying last year. In December. With an identical 8-5 record.

The Red Sox collapse in September and the Patriots flourish in December. Call it a blossoming tradition around New England.