The AFC playoff picture was solved when the Denver Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 27-20 late Sunday. You will read in all the big publications, how Peyton Manning led the Broncos back to victory. Really, C.J. Anderson held onto the ball when Peyton Manning handed it to him. That was why the Broncos were able to defeat the 4-12 Chargers.
That win clinched the top spot in the AFC for the Broncos. The Patriots will go in as the number two seed and will also get a bye. In the wild card round next weekend, the third seeded Bengals will host the sixth seeded Steelers, while the fourth seeded Texans will host the fifth seeded Chiefs. The lowest seed and road teams (Chiefs and Steelers) will be favored by most next weekend.
Obviously, it would have been better for the Patriots to not lose four of their last six games. It would have been better for the Patriots if they finished with the top seed, and didn’t have to leave Foxborough in January. However being the number two seed isn’t so bad. The Steelers are said to be a tough matchup for the Patriots. No matter what happens next weekend, the Patriots and Steelers can not meet until the AFC championship game. The Steelers may be a different team if DeAngelo Williams is out against Cincy next week. If the Bengals are able to get the win against the Steelers, they would come to Foxborough.
I believe the Texans or Bengals would be the best matchup for the Patriots out of the three possible choices. The Chiefs are the hottest team in all of football. They started the season 1-5 and they ended up being a Philip Rivers interception away from winning the AFC West.
The Patriots are capable of beating anyone if they enter the game in two weeks healthy. That is a big question at this point. The offensive line needs to be in tact or the Pats will have their hands full with anyone. With a banged up offensive line, the Patriots have lost to teams like the Eagles and Dolphins in the past six weeks. The Eagles have already fired their coach, and the Dolphins fired their general manager the night before the game against the Patriots.
It is a new season now and as long as those that are expected to come back do return, all that will be soon forgotten. The most worrisome thing out of Sunday was not the Patriots losing and scoring only 10 points against the lowly Dolphins. It was Tom Brady limping out to the podium in his post game press conference. Lets not forget the Patriots were good enough throughout the season so they earned that week off. Hopefully that is enough to get the majority of the team healthy. It usually turns out pretty good when Bill Belichick has two weeks to prepare. Instead of whining because your favorite team lost four out of their last six, including their final two, enjoy that they were good enough so they don’t have to play next weekend. Watch the games and root for whatever you think the best matchup would be for the Patriots. I will be rooting for the Bengals and Texans. Bottom line, if the Patriots play like they did the first 10 games they will end up in the Super Bowl. If they play like they did the last six, they will probably be done in two weeks. Either way, stop acting like a spoiled fan. Most fan bases would love to have 12-4 be a down year for their team.
