FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots have been pretty fortunate in regards to how their schedule has played out this season.The final four games of the regular season could prove to be their toughest yet, though they may face one or more of them with yet another key player sidelined.New England receiver and Danny Amendola left Sundays 26-10 win over the Rams in the third quarter with an ankle injury, and was later spotted in the tunnel postgame walking on crutches.Should he miss any playing time, it would be the latest blow to a team thats already lost tight end Rob Gronkowski to season-ending back surgery last week. It also creates a hole on special teams, where Amendola also serves as the primary punt returner.Any time you lose a guy like Danny whos another big piece of this team, its terrible, receiver Julian Edelman said. Hes a good leader on this team. He comes in and he makes plays. He catches first downs like its nothing. He makes big plays in the special-teams game. So its gonna be tough.The Patriots will face three teams that currently have winning records over the next four weeks, beginning with a Monday night matchup with the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens and their always stingy defense.The Ravens had no problem dispatching Miami, currently second to New England in the AFC East, in a 38-6 win on Sunday. The victory snapped the Dolphins six-game win streak.Obviously, theyre a good team, Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount said. Right now, weve got to make sure we stay on our Ps and Qs, and cross our Xs and just continue to do what weve got to do to make sure that we continue to win these games.The Rams return home with even more problems to work through on offense after managing just 162 yards of offense.They did not cross midfield in the first half and didnt get inside the Patriots 25 until a 66-yard pass from rookie Jared Goff to Kenny Britt just after the two-minute warning to set up their lone touchdown.The elephant in room is the offense. I get it. Were working hard on it, coach Jeff Fisher said.GOFFS GAFFESFisher says not to blame Goff for the teams offensive struggles. The bigger problem was dropped throws and pass protection.When you hit someone in the chest with the football, youve got to hang on it, even though there is contact involved, Fisher said. He extended plays with his legs; he moved around. ... Jared Goff wasnt the reason we lost this football game today.Goff completed 14 of 32 passes for 161 yards -- 66 of them on a fourth-down throw to Kenny Britt to set up the Rams only touchdown with just under 2 minutes left. He also had two interceptions, one on a tipped ball and the other when his arm was hit while he was throwing.We tip the ball and they catch it and then they tip a ball and they catch it. You know, thats the difference in the ballgame really, Fisher said.TURNING A CORNER: The Patriots defense may be coming together at the right time. After failing to force a turnover for 44 straight possessions, New Englands defense has four over the past two games.Sometimes you have droughts and lulls, and theres a lot of things that you need: good breaks, defensive end Chris Long said. People outside the locker room may be panicking when we dont get them, but not us. CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Blount rushed 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown Sunday, leaving him just 43 yards shy of posting his first 1,000-yard season since 2010, when he rushed for 1,007 as a rookie.Blount was placed on injured reserve last December with a hip injury, but said he isnt thinking about that even with a bruising running style that makes him more vulnerable to hits.You cant worry about injuries. You cant worry about last year, he said. Youve just got to worry about what you can control. Injuries -- you cant really control. Youve just got to worry about what you can control.BOOMING KICKSRams punter Johnny Hekker didnt let it go to his head after usually tight-lipped Patriots coach Bill Belichick called him a tremendous weapon, dangerous and as good a player as Ive ever seen at that position.It was cool and a little flattering hearing that from a long-time ball coach, Hekker said Sunday. I would love to have him raving about some other players on our team, because we have guys that are worthy of that kind of stuff. But it is a difficult year for us.Hekker punted eight times for a net average of 52.9 yards on Sunday, including a 76-yarder in the fourth quarter than helped pin the Patriots at their own 5-yard line.Belichicks comments made it all the way to Hekkers parents.It definitely gave them a proud moment, he said. They were able to send them to all of their buddies. They were all pretty excited about it.---AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Malik Hooker Youth Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. 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Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina is extending the contract of Hall of Fame womens basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell and giving new deals or extensions to six other Tar Heels head coaches.The school says Hatchells two-year extension runs through the 2019-20 season.Thursdays announcement comes as UNC faces five NCAA charges tied to its long-running academic fraud scandal. One accuses an academic counselor working with womens basketball players of providing improper assistance on assignments, though no coaches are charged.Womens lacrosse coach Jenny Levy received a one-year extension through the 2018-19 season. UNC says it has agreed in principle on three-year contracts through 2019 with five others: mens lacrosse coach Joe Breschi, womens soccer coach Anson Dorrance, mens tennis coach Sam Paul, field hockey coach Karen Shelton and mens soccer coach Carlos Somoano.Hatchells future at UNC had been in question with her contract set to expire in 2018. The 64-year-old coach is entering her 31st season in Chapel Hill, ranking third all time with 975 career wins to go with eight Atlantic Coast Conferencee championships and an NCAA title in 1994.ddddddddddddShe missed the 2013-14 season while receiving treatment for leukemia. She returned the next season and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, but the Tar Heels ended last year at 14-18 with six scholarship players on a roster depleted by injuries and transfers amid the NCAA case.Levy and Breschi won NCAA championships on Memorial Day weekend, making the Tar Heels the first in 22 years and the second ever to sweep the mens and womens lacrosse titles in the same year. Levy is in her 22nd season as the only coach in program history and also won the 2013 NCAA title, while Breschi is in his ninth season.Dorrance is in his 38th season and has won 22 national championships, while Shelton is in her 36th season and has won six NCAA titles.Somoano won the NCAA championship in his first season as head coach in 2011.Paul, in his 24th season, led the program to its first No. 1 ranking last year and the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. ' ' '