FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- So what if John Elway, Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe are gone? The Broncos and Brian Griese are back.

So what if Drew Bledsoe is the AFC's top-rated quarterback and Terry Glenn shares the NFL lead in receptions? The Patriots are searching for the way back to their September success.

New England was 4-0 before losing its last two games. Denver was 0-4 before winning its last two. Their meeting Sunday, a major mismatch a few weeks ago, could be a critical indicator of where they're headed.

"There's parity," Patriots linebacker Chris Slade said. "You're going to get in little slumps. The key is getting out of them."

The Broncos already have done that after being outscored 98-54 in their first four games. Since then, they've beaten Oakland and Green Bay and suddenly figure in the playoff picture.

"They just made the Packers look like they didn't know how to play football," Patriots coach Pete Carroll said. "You couldn't play much closer to perfect."

They're not the same Broncos who won the last two Super Bowls. Elway retired, Davis is out for the season with a knee injury and Sharpe is sidelined with a broken left collarbone. Yet Denver dominated Green Bay 31-10.

"That really didn't surprise me. I really believe in our football team," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "When your backs are against the wall, you really find out who your leaders are."

Griese, who struggled early in the year, threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one against the Packers, and rookie Olandis Gary rushed for 124 yards as the Broncos gained a season-high 514 yards.

"I wanted to come out and prove myself," Griese said. "When we were 0-4, nobody believes in me. Now we've won two in a row and everybody does."

New England should believe in the Denver defense after it held the NFL's top offense to 35 plays, 133 yards, five first downs and 21 yards rushing. Brett Favre had his worst game as a starter, going 7-for-23 for 120 yards.

That should concern the Patriots, who have struggled on offense and face the NFL's ninth-ranked defense. Their four wins have been by a total of 19 points.

Bledsoe is coming off his worst game of the season in a 31-30 loss to Miami. He couldn't capitalize on a strong defensive performance -- two interceptions returned for touchdowns and nine sacks against Damon Huard, who replaced an injured Dan Marino.

Glenn didn't have a single catch, Ben Coates managed two and has just three in his last three games, and runners have gained a mere 108 yards in the last two games.

All that adds up to six touchdowns in 49 possessions over the last four games.

"The one thing that has been a consistent problem for us has been an inability to score touchdowns in the red zone," Bledsoe said.

New England must run better to keep the clock moving. The lack of offensive balance "is easily remedied. That doesn't mean we're going to be successful at it," Carroll said.

Rookie Kevin Faulk has been slowed by an ankle injury. Veteran Terry Allen was productive in his place, but lost fumbles in the last two games.

The Patriots also have history working against them. They've dropped 11 straight games to the Broncos since winning in 1980, losing in each of the last four years.

"We're not thinking that they're the Denver Broncos who lost four games," New England defensive tackle Chad Eaton said. "We're thinking they're the Denver Broncos who come in here every other year and kick us around and were the Patsies."

It was supposed to be different this year.

The new-look Broncos were flirting with early playoff elimination, and the Patriots were the NFL's last unbeaten team.

Now Denver is on an offensive roll without Elway, Davis and Sharpe.

"We've had some receivers that have had to step up and I think those guys are hungry," Griese said.

And Denver's defense, which lost linebacker John Mobley for the season with a knee injury in the second game, has been impressive.

"We by no means have arrived," said Shanahan, who never believed the Broncos wouldn't reach the playoffs, even when they were 0-4. "If you do believe it, you can't get there."

Now, after losing two in a row themselves, the Patriots can't take the Broncos lightly.

"We just can't take anything for granted," Carroll said. "They're the world champions."

DENVER Season schedule and results

NEW ENGLAND Season schedule and results

September 13 Miami L 21-38 September 19 @Kansas City L 10-26 September 26 @Tampa Bay L 10-13 October 3 NY Jets L 13-21 October 10 @Oakland W 16-13 October 17 Green Bay W 31-10 October 24 @New England 1:00pm ET October 31 Minnesota 4:15pm ET November 7 @San Diego 4:15pm ET November 14 @Seattle 8:20pm ET November 22 Oakland 9:00pm ET December 5 Kansas City 4:15pm ET December 13 @Jacksonville 9:00pm ET December 19 Seattle 4:15pm ET December 25 @Detroit 4:15pm ET January 2 San Diego 4:15pm ET

September 12 @NY Jets W 30-28 September 19 Indianapolis W 31-28 September 26 NY Giants W 16-14 October 3 @Cleveland W 19-7 October 10 @Kansas City L 14-16 October 17 Miami L 30-31 October 24 Denver 1:00pm ET October 31 @Arizona 4:05pm ET November 15 NY Jets 9:00pm ET November 21 @Miami 1:00pm ET November 28 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET December 5 Dallas 8:20pm ET December 12 @Indianapolis 1:00pm ET December 19 @Philadelphia 1:00pm ET December 26 Buffalo 1:00pm ET January 2 Baltimore 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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