Last night, the New England Patriots steamrolled the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. They did the same to Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago, and are seeming to find a groove. They struggled at home early, losing to Arizona at home, then two rough road games in Baltimore and Seattle. Ever since their loss to Seattle, they are on a 7 game winning streak, and looking increasingly dominant.
But what can be done to stop these monsters? Obviously, they are unintimidated by the best teams in their league. The only game they lost to a top team in the AFC was to the Ravens, on the road by 1. At home against the Broncos, Colts and Texans, they are 3-0, winning by 10, 25 and 28 respectively. In fact, the only teams to keep games close since the bye are the Bills and Dolphins.
It appears that the recipe to disrupt the Patriots is to either be a member of the AFC East or to play them at home. The final three games feature only one road game, at Jacksonville. I suspect they will rise to meet the challenge of the well regarded 49ers on Sunday night and win by another 20 points or so. The only real test may be from the Dolphins at home in the final week of the season. There is a very good chance the Patriots win out.
They will likely make the post season as a 1 or 2 seed, depending on how the Texans do against the Colts in two of their final three games this season. They will have home field advantage in the AFC, poise and experience, and a lot of momentum going into the playoffs. As a Colts fan, I can’t stand it, but I don’t see anyone stopping New England from getting to the Super Bowl again this year.
Of course, when they get there, all bets are off.
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