Coming off an emphatic home victory over Peyton Manning and the reigning AFC champion Denver Broncos, the New England Patriots entered their bye week in great position to make a run at home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
With a record of 7-2, New England’s positioning in the AFC race only improved on Sunday as the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins both lost, dropping to 5-4 and giving the Patriots even greater separation within the AFC East.
By beating Denver two Sundays ago, New England proved that they are still the class of not only their own division but of the entire AFC. The Buffalo and Miami losses further confirm it.
The Patriots most recently lost way back in week four, getting dismantled by Kansas City 41-14 in one of the worst losses of the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era; since then, New England has beaten their opponents on average by about three touchdowns, and that includes a two-point victory over the Jets—the only close game the Patriots have had since mid-September.
Looking ahead to the rest of the Patriots’ season, they will return in week 11 to visit the Indianapolis Colts, the team they destroyed in the divisional round of the playoffs a season ago behind a 166-yard rushing performance from LeGarrette Blount. Obviously, having relocated to Pittsburgh via free agency, Blount will not be a part of the next meeting, and with Pats’ starting tailback Stevan Ridley on injured reserve, it is unlikely that the Patriots will be able to run all over Indy’s ninth-ranked run defense this time around. Both teams are coming off bye weeks, and will be fresh. Prepare for a Brady/Luck shootout.
After that, New England hosts Detroit, visits Green Bay, goes to San Diego, and then finishes the season with a series of three divisional games, two of which are on the road. Overall, it is a grueling stretch, pitting the Patriots against six teams with winning records to finish the season. It will be tough, but if any team can handle it, it is the Patriots.
The days of losing to Miami and Kansas City along with struggling against the Raiders seem to be long over. Despite some major injuries that have downed key players like Ridley, Jerod Mayo, and Chandler Jones, the Patriots have only gotten better as the season has progressed. The rest of New England’s schedule might be tough, but the Pats will not be intimidated. It is the foes they face that should be worried.
Tom Brady is on pace for legitimate MVP consideration, Rob Gronkowski is finally fully healthy and dominating the field the way he has previously shown he can do. The defense has forced a league-high 18 turnovers, and free-agent signings Brandon LaFell and Darrelle Revis have emerged as big-time contributors. The sky is the limit for this team.
Despite the aforementioned injuries and unfavorable schedule, this season may be the best shot New England has at reclaiming the Lombardi Trophy since their undefeated 2007 regular season.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Football Overdose, and a LastWordOnSports Analyst. For more of his NFL articles, follow his updates at NFL Fantasy Football Rankings Facebook or follow him on twitter @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
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