The New England Patriots allowed just 68 points in eight home games this season, and nearly half came in a 38-30 victory over the Tennessee Titans in October.

Still, don’t expect another high-scoring game when the Titans return to Foxboro Saturday night for what might be the best matchup of the second round of the NFL playoffs.

“We’re two different clubs now,” Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher says. “Both defenses have improved. The offenses appear to be healthy, and they are operating well, so it should be a different ballgame.”

The Patriots have a lot going for them.

That victory over the Titans was the start of a 12-game winning streak. Six of the wins came at home, including three shutouts.

The Patriots also are rested, a huge advantage at this point in the postseason.

Since 1990, the first year six teams from each conference made the playoffs, home teams coming off a first-round bye are 43-9 in the second round. That also bodes well for Kansas City, St. Louis and Philadelphia.

On the other hand, this has been a season of surprises, and only two of the Patriots’ 14 wins were one-sided — 31-10 over the Eagles when Philadelphia was in its early season funk, and 31-0 over Buffalo in the final week. That one atoned for an opening-week loss to the Bills by the same score.

The Titans are coming off a 20-17 victory in Baltimore (road teams do win in the first round). But neither quarterback Steve McNair nor running back Eddie George is likely to be at full strength — McNair has had leg problems for the last month, and George separated a shoulder against Baltimore.

Nonetheless, Tennessee presents problems for New England. A defense that allowed the Patriots to run for 161 yards in the first meeting is healthier now.

Indianapolis (13-4) at Kansas City (13-3) (Sunday)

Unless there’s a gale and subzero temperatures, a lot of points probably will be put up by teams that often score at will and often let opponents do the same.

The Chiefs are unbeaten at home but allowed 45 points in losses at Denver and Minnesota during a 4-3 run after starting 9-0.

They finished 30th of 32 teams in rushing yardage allowed, which means Edgerrin James could have a nice day in support of Peyton Manning, who threw for five TDs last week in a 41-10 win over the Broncos.

But Priest Holmes could have a nice day, too. The Colts were tied for 20th against the run and kept Denver from running only because they took a big early lead.

Manning had a perfect 158.3 passer rating last week, his second of the season. The only other QB with a perfect game this year was the Chiefs’ Trent Green.

Green Bay (11-6) at Philadelphia (12-4) (Sunday)

These two haven’t met in the postseason since 1960, when the Eagles won their last NFL championship at old Franklin Field against Vince Lombardi’s Packers. But they did meet on a rainy night in Green Bay in November, when the Eagles won, 17-14, on Donovan McNabb’s touchdown pass to Todd Pinkston in the final minute. That game was a turning point for Green Bay.

Carolina (12-5) at St. Louis (12-4) (Saturday)

The Panthers are outsiders, an upstart team that was 1-15 two seasons ago, before John Fox took over as head coach. The Rams are one of the NFC favorites, though they gave up the top seeding by losing to Detroit in their last regular-season game.