Patriots await whistle-blowing Jets

The New York Jets face the music, a Green Bay legend goes for another record, and some coaches are feeling the heat.

Ten things to watch heading into Week 15 of the NFL season:

Like perfect, only better

1If host New England beats the New York Jets on Sunday, the Patriots will join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in the modern era to win their first 14 games. And the Patriots have done it against tougher opponents. Not one of the teams the Dolphins beat during their perfect regular season wound up making the playoffs. In fact, only two -- Kansas City and the New York Giants -- finished better than .500.

Turbulence ahead

2The Jets can say what they want this week. They couldn’t possibly supply the Patriots with any additional bulletin-board material. After all, New York is the team that tipped off the NFL to New England’s illicit videotaping of defensive signals. The Patriots have no conscience in the way they’ve beaten opponents this season. They’ll try to hang 100 on the Jets, who are 25-point underdogs.

Don’t look now, but . . .

3Indianapolis is quietly coming on strong. The Colts, operating in the long shadow of the Patriots, made light work of Baltimore’s fourth-ranked defense and shouldn’t have a problem winning at Oakland on Sunday. Everything is pointing to an AFC championship rematch between Indianapolis and New England.

This time, however, it would be played in Foxborough, and the Colts wouldn’t have Dwight Freeney, their injured defensive dynamo, to chase down Tom Brady.

Watch Favre carve

4What an incredible season for Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre. He’s on pace to set career highs in completions, passing yardage and completion percentage, and needs 184 yards to pass Dan Marino’s career record of 61,361 yards passing. The Packers play the St. Louis Rams, who are giving up an average of 217.6 yards passing per game.

Book ‘em

5It isn’t just Favre who’s rewriting the record books. New England’s Brady and Randy Moss are making personal runs at history, too. With three games remaining, Brady needs five touchdown passes to break Peyton Manning’s season mark of 49, set in 2004. Moss has 19 touchdown receptions and needs four more to surpass Jerry Rice’s 22, set in 1987.

Hi and good-bye?

6Could a couple of first-year coaches be gone after only one season? All signs point to Atlanta’s Bobby Petrino chasing the Arkansas job, and Miami’s Cam Cameron is rumored to be a candidate for the Michigan opening. Meanwhile, Carolina’s John Fox, Baltimore’s Brian Billick, Kansas City’s Herm Edwards and San Francisco’s Mike Nolan haven’t gotten it done this season. Sources in Seattle say Mike Holmgren might hang it up after this season to become a team president somewhere.

An Erie feeling

7Who could have guessed a Buffalo Bills-Cleveland Browns game would mean anything in December? But Sunday’s matchup means a lot. Cleveland is only a game behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North -- although the Steelers have the tiebreaker -- and Buffalo is trying to move ahead of the Browns for that second wild-card spot. There’s also a Pacific 10 Conference angle to this game: It pits Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson (Oregon State) and Buffalo’s Trent Edwards (Stanford).

Deck of cards

8The Giants are in good position to grab the first NFC wild-card spot, but a logjam has formed for the second one. Minnesota has a one-game lead over Detroit, Arizona, Washington and New Orleans. The Vikings are on a roll, having won four in a row, and there’s not a winning team in their final three opponents: Chicago (5-8), Washington (6-7) and at Denver (6-7).

Miami blues

9Miami plays host to Baltimore on Sunday in what could be the Dolphins’ best chance to avert an unprecedented 0-16 season.

The Ravens have lost seven in a row, and, a week after giving New England a scare, completely collapsed at home against Indianapolis. After playing Baltimore (4-9), the Dolphins travel to New England (13-0), then finish at home against Cincinnati (5-8).

Timing pattern

10So have the San Diego Chargers turned the corner? Are they ready to realize their potential? They certainly looked shaky for much of Sunday’s game at Tennessee before winning in overtime, their third consecutive victory. Now, they play host to Detroit in hopes of widening their two-game lead in the AFC West. The Chargers have always said they want to be hot in December, and now’s the time to prove it.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com