Sure, there are no medals just for trying in professional football. But if there were, the Patriots would have been fitted for a big, fat shiny one after nearly pulling off a 25-point comeback against Denver on Sunday.

We collectively hung our heads at halftime and into the third quarter, thinking “Well, here’s another San Diego-style blowout to cap off my rain-infested weekend. Great. Can’t wait for that boring meeting tomorrow in the office. Is dinner ready, hon?”

So the Pats get a field goal to make it a 28-6 game – perhaps it was arrogance or naA? ?vtA?©, I’m not sure, really – and suddenly the Patriots had the momentum.

Down by 22, mind you. It was as if you could tell what was going to happen before it happened. Deep inside your gut you knew the Pats would score a few touchdowns to make the game play out for a full four quarters.

And that’s just what this JV-version of the Patriots’ Super Bowl dynasty did.

The cynics among us will say “The Pats didn’t make enough plays to win. It doesn’t matter whether they lost by eight, 25 or 73 points. A loss is a loss.” And they are right to a certain extent.

But consider these extenuating circumstances before passing judgment: they had only two healthy running backs for the Denver game. Corey Dillon was a late scratch and the secondary and offensive line had about as much cool as a student teacher settling in for his first day.

For sure, the bye week couldn’t come at a better time. We’ll follow the possiblility of a Tedy Bruschi comeback, hope that Dillon and Richard Seymour get healthy and – if we cross our fingers – maybe even Matt Light. And maybe the Patriots will re-discover their time-proven technique of tackling opposing players.

Also keep in mind that besides the looming Indy showdown on Nov. 7, the schedule gets much, much easier in the second half.

Does the thought of Tampa Bay and Miami coming up to Foxboro in the final three weeks of the season turn you on? I knew it would.

Mix in Vinny and the Jets, the Bills, the Saints and you have the makings for a run that will get the Patriots into the playoffs. Maybe not a first-round bye, mind you, but it will get them to the dance.

Do they have problems that will keep them from a third consecutive Super Bowl title? You bet. Dead last in red zone defense is no way to go through life, son. Or how about three measly takeaways for the defense through the first six games?

And in Super years, there was a knack for making a big play at a big time. If that was the case this year, Jarvis Green’s hand would have been four inches the other way and he would have batted down a Jake Plummer pass to Rod Smith late in the fourth quarter. Instead, it went for a first down and sealed the game for the Broncos.

Or Chad Brown blocks a Todd Sauerbrun punt in the third quarter instead of it somehow getting off without a hitch.

Sometimes the breaks go your way and sometimes they don’t. For a long, improbable time those breaks went the Patriots way. This year they just went.

No one at One Patriot Place will tell you anything but “a loss is a loss,” yet heading into a two week break, they have got to believe that they are a lot closer to righting the ship than letting it drift out to sea.

Funny how losing by only eight points can make things look okay.