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FOXBORO - By mid-fourth quarter of Sunday's game, New England Patriots fans were already pulling out cigars and switching their focus to baseball. The score was 45-0, the Patriots had made the Washington Redskins look hapless and inept, and Patriot Nation was left wondering who, if anyone, might beat their team.

Many fans named the Indianapolis Colts as the likely squad to spoil what otherwise seems to be a charmed season. Another common answer to who might beat the Patriots was "no one."

"I haven't seen anything that would tell me they're beatable," said Arem Still, 40, of Milford, wearing an old school Tom Brady jersey. "They're the best team I've ever seen."

The final score of the Patriots' rout was 52-7. After the game, coach Bill Belichick assessed the team's performance in conservative terms, calling the game a "good, solid effort." In the locker room and in post-game press conferences, many players said there was still plenty of room for improvement.

But even Redskins coach Joe Gibbs called the Patriots near-perfect - "Looking across there, I don't know of a weakness that they have," he said - and from the outside looking in, fans seem to believe that the team is virtually invincible. Mike Geaney, 37, of Boston is one who says the Patriots aren't likely to be beaten. "Not even by Indy," Geaney said.

As for the reasons why?

"Momentum, spectacular offense, spectacular defense, because I'm a Pats fan," he said. "The receivers are a big deal this year. I think the offensive additions are the biggest difference this year."

Francisco Jimenez, 27, called the Patriots' 52-7 victory "disgusting" (in a good way) but still said that anything can happen. He isn't quite ready to put his money on a 16-0 season just yet.

"Of course they're beatable," said Jimenez, a Marshfield native who has since moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, but was in town for a wedding. "It's not that I don't want them to win. It's just that this is football and anything can happen."

Charles Bishop, 64, had a similar take. He said a loss is always possible, but in the Patriots' case, not likely.

"A couple of bad snaps, a couple of turnovers, it can happen. I don't think it will, but it can happen," said Bishop, of Cumberland, R.I. "They're on a pretty good roll; Indy will be the toughest challenge."

Bishop attended Sunday's game with his 31-year-old son, Kyle, a Redskins fan since the early '80s. The differing loyalties never created problems at home, the Bishops said. And Kyle Bishop has plenty of respect for the Patriots.

"They're the best team in football," he admitted. "But I'm definitely surprised by the final score."

Harry Akinkugbe, 35, has dual allegiances to both the Patriots and Redskins . A native of Washington, D.C., who now lives in North Providence, R.I., Akinkugbe grew up supporting the Redskins but also roots for the home team: He may have been wearing a Redskins hat, but he called the Patriots a "special team." Akinkugbe predicts that if a loss comes for the Patriots, it will be at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Giants. He said losing to the Indianapolis Colts next week is simply out of the question.

"Definitely not the Colts," he said. "I hate the Colts."