The New Year’s ball has dropped and the Christmas trees have been put away (unless you’re like my mother and leave it up until Easter). That can only mean it’s time for one thing: Start growing out those playoff beards, because the NFL playoffs are here!
Already knowing that the Patriots clinched the #1 overall seed and would receive a first round bye, last weekend allowed the other five teams to determine their position for the post season. Sunday’s results allowed Patriots fans to begin to work out all of the possible scenarios that might face New England in the next round. Being a Pats fan myself, I thought it would be fun to walk through each potential matchup and share my thoughts on each prospective opponent.
Out of the five remaining playoff teams in the AFC, there are only two teams that are statistical impossibilities for the Patriots to play coming off of their bye next weekend. The first team is obvious, the second seeded Pittsburgh Steelers. They also will be resting on a bye this weekend, and therefore would be unable to tango with the Pats until the AFC Championship game. Not a bad deal for Patriots fans, as they are one of the tougher battle-tested opponents remaining.
The Indianapolis Colts is the second team the Pats would be unable to face next round and, if you ask me, this is definitely a good thing. Once a desperate team bordering on the edge of mediocrity with a record of 6-6, the Colts have ripped off four straight wins to finish the season, capturing the #3 seed and the AFC South crown in the process.
A lot of people wanted to write off the Colts after twelve games, but like ‘em or hate ‘em, when their backs are against the wall, that’s when #18, Peyton Manning, seems to rise up and will them to succeed. Plagued with a laundry list of major injuries to key players on offense and defense throughout the season, they are finally starting to get healthy at just the right time.
Facing a team with a quarterback like Peyton Manning, who would already have a post season game under his belt as a warm up, would be a tough matchup for anyone, even for Belichick and Brady. Ironically enough, we have our old friend, Adam Vinatieri, to thank for this. It was his late field goal on Sunday against the Titans that handed Indy the three seed and slid the K.C. Chiefs into the fourth slot.
Speaking of those Kansas City Chiefs, as the fourth seed, there is a chance that we will get to see this match up after all. As I mentioned in a previous posting, this would be an intriguing matchup on many levels. I really like the idea of seeing Matt Cassel, the long-time backup, coming back to Foxboro to face Tom Brady: the classic tale of former pupil versus former teacher.
If each of the home teams in the wild card round were able to hold serve then the Patriots would indeed face the Kansas Chiefs, bringing back Cassel and Bill Belichick’s former assistants Romeo Crenel and Charlie Weis. Aside from these side storylines, the matchup itself would be a very favorable one for the Patriots. From a talent perspective and an experience level, the Patriots would certainly have the edge in both categories, not to mention they have one of the most beneficial home field advantages in all of football.
At the fifth seed sits the Baltimore Ravens. Now this, I believe, is the one matchup that the Patriots need to avoid at all costs. Taking New England out of the equation, the Ravens appear to be the most balanced team out there. They possess a dynamic running and capable passing attack. Combine that with a stalwart defense that boasts plenty of big-game experience, led by Ray Lewis, one of the most feared defensive players (and fairly decent actor in Old Spice ads), and this game would have trouble written all over it.
The other scary aspect of this matchup is that the Ravens would not be intimidated to come into Foxboro, as it was just last season they marched into Gillette Stadium and destroyed the Patriots on their home turf. The only way this can happen is if the Colts win their game and the Ravens upset the Chiefs in Kansas City, which is actually a very likely possibility in my opinion. This is definitely the one game that poses the biggest threat to New England’s championship aspirations.
Last but not least, well that’s what Rex Ryan will want you to believe anyway, is the New York Jets. They barely squeaked in as the sixth seed after a 9-2 start to the season. After that Monday Night debacle in New England, they proceeded to lose two of their next three games and finished at 11-5. Aside from the Chiefs, this would be the second most desirable matchup for the Pats.
Removing my own personal bias to see Kansas City, I think this is the team that Belichick and the Pats secretly want to play. Line after line of braggadocios claims spew from their arrogant coach’s mouth with each passing press conference, and they still have yet to back all that talk up. I realize that getting a Patriots player to admit to this would be like getting Pete Rose to admit to betting on baseball prior to signing a book deal, but you can just sense the animosity shared between these two teams and I doubt there is any other team that would be more satisfying for them to defeat.
There it is- all the possible matchups and individual analysis behind each game. Looking back, it was a surprisingly great regular season. I mean, honestly, I thought the Patriots would be good this year, but who would have predicted a 14-2 record. However, as we all know, the regular season is meaningless and their efforts for the past 17 weeks will all be for not unless they put together one more three-game win streak.
So, what is there to cheer for during a Patriots playoff bye week? If you’re asking me, my answer would be anyone but the Baltimore Ravens. So rally around the team you want to see march into Foxboro next weekend, because this is one of the rare occasions that it's okay to cheer on a team not wearing the red, white and blue. Just be prepared by next Sunday to exchange those same cheers for more boisterous boos and more jolting jeers. Don’t get too carried away, though. Take this week to rest up, because, whomever the Patriots play next weekend, it’ll be time to get rowdy!
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