Buchanty

It is good to see that the Pats sit on top of the Big Play Index http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...lay_Index.html

I do think that big plays have a large influence on the outcome of some games especially in the playoffs, so I did a little comparison to see which teams would give NE the hardest time using this index. I compared the record of the division winners in the AFC against the top 10 and the bottom 10 over the season so far.

Team, Record v Top, Record v Bottom

Pats, 6-0, 5-0
Colts, 3-2, 6-0
SD, 1-4, 3-1
Pitts, 1-2, 3-0

then the top 2 seeds in the NFC

Dallas, 3-1, 6-0
GB, 4-1, 5-0

and then because someone had a thread on avoiding the Jaguars

Jags, 4-2, 2-1

From this I conclude that the Packers would be the hardest team to meet. That can only happen in the SB, so as far as the AFC playoffs go Jacksonville is indeed the biggest threat. They have played the fewest bottom ranked teams and their two losses against the top 10 came against the Colts. I do think that the Colts are their hump team (psychological barrier that is), and 4 wins against Big Play top 10 is impressive.