MoneyFX

There is a lot of football to be played left this season, but this is just future thoughts on the rest of the season. What team do you think has the best chance to beat NE in the playoffs (matches up well)? Not saying that it's going to happen. For me, I would think Baltimore just b/c of how tough this team always plays the Patriots and it would be hard also to go on the road in front of that crowd, even though they almost lost that game.

Post your thoughts.

supafly

No matter how you look at it, they are going to have to beat the top tier teams to get to the SB, let alone have a chance at winning it.

I think our chances really rest on the opportunity to get that 1st round bye, especially since the #3 could force us to play the following schedule:

1.WC round at home vs. #6 Pittsburgh

2.Divisional round AT #2 Baltimore

3.Conference round AT #1 Houston (or home to Denver if they should upset them)

That combination of games and teams does not appear to be the most favorable scenario to me. Getting that first round bye with the potential to play at least one team in BAL/HOU would be huge to our success. It would also allow us to avoid having to play a team like Pittsburgh in the 'extra' game of the wildcard round and allow the team 2 weeks to prepare for the home game with plenty of rest.

To me it's huge, much bigger than some are giving credit to. In the playoffs luck is often an important ace in the hole, as we've seen before.

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Patiently waiting to defend the next "bubble" player in this summer's training camp.....

patfanken

4th and FREAKIN' 29 The way the Ravens and Texans are squeaking and squirming out astounding victories, its become clear that the Pats are going to have to win this superbowl the old-fashioned way......by winning 4 games. The Pats are likely to end up with a 12-4 or 13-3 record and not get a bye. The Ravens and Texans have been handed so many wins this season it just seems destined.

Shockt327

Well, Baltimore does have a challenging schedule for the remainder of the regular season. So, I hope the Pats can grab the #2 seed.

PIT @ BAL
BAL @ WAS
DEN @ BAL
NYG @ BAL
BAL @ CIN

mosi

Don't know about the playoffs but the 49'ers are for real. They are fast to the ball and they hit hard. Real hard. That game should give us a real good idea of what the 2012 Pats are made of. Can't wait for that game.

MossWelkowski

I think we have to get ready for the 3 seed folks. I don't think the patriots will beat both HOU and SF... That means either HOU needs to lose at least twice or BAL needs to lose 3 times.

Sucks because I think BAL could be beat by either IND CIN or PIT

MossWelkowski

NFC will be TTTTOOOOOUUUUGGHHHH to get through... Good luck to them

SAINTS
GB
GIANTS
CHI

IcyPatriot

Most of the regular season drama will be the wild cards ...

Of the 8 divisions ... 6 of them have a leader in 1st by at least 3 games.

One division NFC East it's 2 games.

NFC North it's a 1 game lead for the Bears.

I did not bother to check tie breakers ... just looking at the records.

Another 2 weeks and most of the division winners could already be known ...

That is amazing ... parity in the league? yes for being mediocre there is parity.

Rob0729

IDK, nothing is sealed yet. Every team in contention for each division in the AFC still have some potential losses by good to very good teams.

The Texans still have the Colts twice, the Pats, and the Vikes. Both the Colts and Vikes are still in contention for Wild Cards and could be tough outs for a team currently struggling to beat bad teams. If the Texans continue to play like they have the last month, I can see two or three more losses before the end of the season.

The Ravens' final schedule is very tough. They have the Broncos, Steelers (won't be all that tough if Roethlisberger isn't back), Redskins, Giants, and Bengals. All those teams are either definitely playoff bound or in contention.

The Broncos still have the Ravens and Bucs who are both still in playoff contention.

The Pats still have Miami twice, Houston, and the 49ers. All are in playoff contention and Houston and the 49ers have two of the best records in the NFL.

The Pats basically have to win out or only lose one more game to even dream of a bye, but all the top teams in the AFC have potential losses on their horizon. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats and Broncos have the first round bye when everything is said and done.

MP-Logick

We can't afford to lose more than one game to get a bye, probably, and with Denver's soft schedule we may need to win out. The 2 seed sounds really good this year - playing Peyton again is much less scary at home, and Baltimore is literally a different team on the road compared with in Baltimore.

I could see a repeat of 2006 though - Brady and Manning getting the 3 and 4 seeds and both winning on the road in the divisional round. Should be an exciting AFC playoffs.