Rick: The team I would most like to see come into Foxboro is the Cincinnati Bengals. While Cincy went a long way in terms of winning big games when they beat the Broncos at home, Andy Dalton will only have one playoff win under his belt if he wins on the road at Indy this week. The Patriots dominated the Bengals at home in Week 5 and we know Darrelle Revis can shut down AJ Green like he did in the first half. If New England can take Green out of the game, it’s a completely different offense for Marvin Lewis and company. While Cincy’s run game can cause problems, you don’t want to see Baltimore’s pass rush or have to go up against Andrew Luck, even though the Patriots are 3-0 against him in his short career.
Kyle: I would like to see Jacksonville come to Foxboro next weekend; since they aren’t in the playoffs, I’ll settle for Indianpolis. The Patroits absolutely have their number. For years, New England has always fared well against teams the come out with a “what we do is what we do” mindset as opposed to those whose defenses morph to the opponent. There is nothing about Indy that scares me, or should scare the Pats.
Raj: I would probably be most comfortable with the Cincinnati Bengals. You could make a case for the Colts too but eventually, Andrew Luck is going to figure the Pats out. I’d rather have him beat NE in the regular season instead of the playoffs. This year means too much for the Pats and the Colts could pose as a threat (not as big as Baltimore though – for obvious reasons). The Bengals right now are an inconsistent football team. When they suck, they really look pathetic in all aspects of the game. When they’re good, they can cause some scares. But they won’t be good enough to beat the Pats in Foxboro. With all that being said, give me Cincy!
Derek: I think we all have some Baltimore playoff memories that we’d rather forget. That means the ideal scenario for Patriots fans involves a Steelers win on Saturday Night, sending Pittsburgh to terrorize Peyton Manning. The Patriots would then get the winner of Colts/Bengals. Given the fact that the Patriots’ offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders as of late and I still have a slightly bad taste in my mouth from the Bengals’ Week 5 win in 2013 in which they terrorized Brady with their pass rush and the team failed to put up many points, I’ll take my chances with Indianapolis. In the previous three meetings between Brady and Luck, the Colts have had their doors blown off. LaGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray have each had a field day against the horseshoes and this matchup would allow Bill Belichick to trot BOTH of them out there to face the soft Indy run defense.
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