---

FOXBORO - The Patriots are facing a crisis. What seems almost like a birthright to playoff participation is at risk over the next month, and it will take men of strong character to accomplish that goal.

Does coach Bill Belichick have confidence that he has the men on his team to get the job done?

"Yes, I am confident in the team," he said matter-of-factly in his first press conference following Sunday's 33-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Patriots, 7-5 and trailing the New York Jets by a full game in the AFC East, as well as the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens by the same margin in the race for two wild-card playoff berths, are looking at a situation where their best chance for continuing their season is by winning out - at Seattle on Sunday (4:05 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12), at Oakland, home against Arizona and at Buffalo.

Even then, nothing is assured for them. Should the Patriots, Colts and Ravens all finish at 11-5, the latter two would prevail by virtue of tiebreakers - the Colts from their head-to-head win over the Patriots, and the Ravens by their better conference record. There are several different scenarios involving all nine teams vying for six playoff berths, but in just about every case, the Patriots cannot afford more than one loss (and that would preferably be against Seattle or Arizona, both NFC teams). They also need for the Ravens, who have the toughest schedule by far (at 7-5 Washington, 9-3 Pittsburgh, at 8-4 Dallas, 4-7 Jacksonville), to fall on their face down the stretch, losing at least two games and preferably three.

The Patriots didn't get any help from the schedule-makers in trying to catch the division-leading Jets. New York visits San Francisco (4-8), entertains Buffalo (6-6), visits Seattle (2-10) and plays host to Miami (7-5) over the last month. And if anyone expects the Colts to step aside, look at their schedule: Cincinnati (1-10-1) at home, Detroit (0-12) at home, at Jacksonville (4-7) and home against Tennessee (11-1), which will not need to expend a lot of energy with the No. 1 seed virtually wrapped up.

Some players have already admitted to doing some scoreboard watching. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork practically admitted to it in his morning appearance on WEEI Radio, as did linebacker Mike Vrabel and guard Logan Mankins in brief locker-room interviews later in the day.

But Belichick held true to a time-honored mantra.

"The best thing we can do is go out there and win," he said. "Right now, that's what we are working on for Seattle. We're not worried about anybody else but Seattle. I know there are other games on our schedule, but there's nothing we can do about any of those games.

"We are not going to concern ourselves with them, just like we normally wouldn't," he said. "We will focus on this game, one game at a time and get ready for Seattle."

Despite injuries to key veterans and the natural change of the roster over time, Belichick reasserted his faith that the players on hand would address the challenge ahead as past Patriots have - one game at a time.

"We have had our highs and lows and we bounce back from those," he said. "We try to work hard and continue to work hard and get better every week whether we have won or lost, played well or haven't played well, practiced well or haven't practiced well.

"There has been a good effort and good attentiveness to try to correct things, improve and get them right. I don't see any reason why that would change," he added.

Bill on Welker One of the topics addressed by Belichick during his press conference was the hit late in the third quarter that veteran wide receiver Wes Welker took from Steelers' safety Ryan Clark.

Clark was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the play. It's anticipated that the NFL will review the hit this week, and a fine could be forthcoming. The Patriots, meanwhile, have yet to acknowledge whether Welker was injured on the play or the severity of the injury.

"The officials called a penalty they called a penalty on the play," Belichick said. "It's not something you want to happen, but football's a contact sport. And the hits that are illegal, then those ... that jurisdiction comes under somebody else. Let the league handle that, and whatever they're going to do with that, that's the official's call and that's the league's call.

Belichick was asked if the nature of the hit might make Welker think twice about going over the middle and making himself vulnerable when he returns.

"I think Wes is a very good receiver," he said. "I think he does a great job of getting open and catching the ball, and he has for a long time. He's been hit before. He's been tackled. I think that he does a great job of that."

When the reporter said he was not questioning Welker's toughness, Belichick added his own emphasis to that topic.

"I would never question his toughness," the coach said. "I certainly wouldn't question his toughness."

Welker left the Pittsburgh game with four catches for 30 yards, ending his NFL record streak of 11 games with at least six receptions to start a season (and 15 in total). He entered the game with 80 receptions, second in the NFL.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.