Two days after Super Bowl XLII, safety Willie Andrews was arrested in Lowell, Massachusetts on February 5 for possession of one-half pound (230 g) of marijuana and driving an unregistered car.

[3] On June 30, Andrews was arrested again and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm in Mansfield, Massachusetts, after his fiancée accused him of pointing a gun at her head.

[6] On February 22, running back Kevin Faulk was issued a misdemeanor summons after he was found with four marijuana cigarettes at a Lil Wayne concert in Lafayette, Louisiana.

[8] Faulk pleaded no contest to the charge on July 8 and was sentenced to a five-month suspended jail term, given one year of probation, fined, and ordered to complete community service and substance abuse treatment programs.

In May, the article states Kaczur participated in a Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation, wearing a hidden recording device while purchasing $3,900 worth (100 pills) of OxyContin.

[11] The three transactions, on May 1, May 6, and May 13 in the area near Foxborough, Massachusetts, led to the arrest of Kaczur's dealer Daniel Ekasala, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 3 for three counts of possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute.

[23] Also departing via free agency were cornerbacks Asante Samuel (Philadelphia Eagles),[24] Randall Gay (New Orleans Saints),[25] and safety Eugene Wilson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

On the first drive of the game, a running-into-the-kicker penalty committed by the Chiefs on a fourth-down punt gave the Patriots a fresh set of downs, but three plays later, wide receiver Wes Welker fumbled after catching a pass from quarterback Tom Brady.

Despite a Kris Jenkins sack of Cassel to begin the drive, the Patriots moved into the red zone on a 22-yard completion to running back Kevin Faulk on a 3rd-and-9 play.

Starting from their own 26-yard line, the Dolphins drove into the Patriots' red zone in part from two catches by tight end Anthony Fasano from Chad Pennington for 47 yards.

On the fourth play, defensive lineman Mike Wright sacked Ramsey and forced a fumble, which undrafted free agent linebacker Gary Guyton caught to give the Patriots the ball at midfield.

Wide receiver Keenan Burton then caught a 27-yard pass from Bulger, and Pittman ran for 30 yards on two runs to help the Rams reach as far as the Patriots' 23-yard line on a first down.

Part way through the drive, the Patriots employed the same "Wildcat" formation concept used against them earlier in the season against the Dolphins, using Faulk as the back receiving the direct snap on a run for five yards.

Manning spiked the ball at the Patriots' 26-yard line with one second remaining, but was called for a false start; by rule, the penalty incurred a ten-second clock run-off to end the first half.

The Bills responded on the ensuing kickoff with an 85-yard return by Leodis McKelvin, setting up a 14-yard touchdown catch by fellow rookie James Hardy on the next play to cut the Patriots' lead to 20–10.

Starting from their own 33-yard line after the Patriots directed the kickoff to linebacker David Bowens instead of to Washington, the Jets began what would be a 14-play drive with just over 10 minutes left in the game.

On the ensuing play, Moss was covered by former Patriots cornerback Ty Law, who returned to the Jets for a second stint with the team just days earlier after sitting out the first 10 weeks of the season.

A Tedy Bruschi unnecessary roughness penalty on the second Ronnie Brown run set up a first-and-goal, where Camarillo caught a 3-yard pass from Pennington for a touchdown, giving the Dolphins a 7–3 lead.

The Patriots, with just four minutes remaining in the game, exclusively ran Green-Ellis running plays on their ensuing possession, moving into the Dolphins' red zone on back-to-back unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties by Porter.

Following a 21-yard reception by tight end Heath Miller to begin the drive, the Steelers moved further into Patriots territory on two Nate Washington catches of 15 and 16 yards, both on third down.

With Hobbs, the usual kick returner, on the sidelines vomiting and suffering from cramps,[54] Slater took the ensuing kickoff; the rookie muffed the catch and the fumble was recovered by Fox at the Patriots' 8-yard line.

Watson then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Cassel to cut the Seahawks' lead to 14–10, but his post-touchdown celebration involved using the ball as a prop, prompting a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

After a Maurice Morris run for a loss of a yard, Wallace was strip-sacked by a blitzing Meriweather on 2nd and 11; Seymour recovered the fumble at the Seahawks' 49-yard line to seal the Patriots win.

On the fifth play of the drive, Russell connected with wide receiver Ronald Curry on a 10-yard touchdown pass that cut the Patriots' lead to 42–20 after Wilfork blocked Sebastian Janikowski's extra point.

[57] In their final home game of the regular season, the Patriots faced the Cardinals, who had already clinched the NFC West division title, in snowy and eventually rainy weather.

The Cardinals' ensuing possession was again a three-and-out, and a 36-yard punt by Ben Graham, released by the Jets earlier in the season, helped the Patriots start their next drive from their own 45-yard line.

With the ball to begin the second half as the result of their opening coin toss deferral, the Patriots extended their lead to 38–0 on the first play, a screen pass to Moss that went for a 76-yard touchdown.

Nine plays later, on a 3rd-and-5 from the Cardinals' 5-yard line, Cassel was sacked by linebacker Karlos Dansby, setting up a 35-yard Gostkowski field goal that increased the Patriots' lead to 41–0.

Two plays later, Leinart was strip-sacked by a blitzing Meriweather for a loss of 12 yards, but this time defensive lineman Jarvis Green recovered the ball for the Patriots at the Cardinals' 15-yard line.

The Bills reached the Patriots' 28-yard line before attempting a 47-yard field goal; Lindell's kick started off by moving left before being caught by the wind and falling wide right.