Math still good for bye

[NYPatsFan]

Denver plays Cinci so one of them will have 3 losses. They both have to play the Steelers

Yes, but looking at the Patriots and the way they've played without key guys, are there any "locks" left on their schedule? If Philly wasn't a lock, I'd be hard-pressed to say that the Pats finish better than 12-4.

 

[bostonia3333]

The only lock is Tennessee. @HOU, @NYJ, @Mia are slightly better than coin flips.

That Denver loss had to be one of the biggest regular season losses in Pats history. They win that game and they have a 4 game lead over DENVER with the head to head tie-breaker

 

[captain stone]

Odds, percentages, etc mean jack squat when you're talking about a team as broken-down as this one is.

They'll be lucky to go 2-3 for the rest of the season. Say Hello to the 3rd seed and no bye week.

Ah, the burden of being right as often as I am is heavy indeed.

You're welcome.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

Ah, the burden of being right as often as I am is heavy indeed.

You're welcome.

I'm not sure I'd refer to this team as "broken down" as much as stupid right now. The Patriots drove the ball at will near the end of game and outscored the Eagles 28-14 barring "dumb" self-inflicted wounds: the punt block where they didn't have an adequate protection, the interception return, etc.

This is still a good football team even with all the injuries, but they have to play like they know they can win, not out of panic that they will lose. It appears clear that Gronk is the spiritual leader of this team alongside Brady. Only Gronk's injury has led to the team losing games - every other game with him in there they won this season. It appears this is a case of a team that needs to find confidence without one of its leaders.

Dumb football loses games. Scared football loses games. Confidence and smarts win. There is nothing broken about this team other than its belief that it can win without Gronk.

 

[carmelo15]

denver won't beat Pitt they won't. Look past the espy hype and you see a team that still has bad offense and can't run the ball outside vs NE with our linebackers out. SD has a terrible line and still they ran the ball well just Gordon is a fumble machine and SD has a terrible run defense and denver couldn't run on them. Pitt will put point on that defense at home Brady put 24 with 0 WRs Ben has the best wr and bryant/wheaton and the defense has improved.

Denver will lose vs Pitt and vs cinco is another battle. Have no idea why people think denver would be favorites here too. Denver offense isn't putting up more than 14pts on that defense.

 

[supafly]

The only lock is Tennessee. @HOU, @NYJ, @Mia are slightly better than coin flips.

The back to back road games to end the season shouldn't be overlooked, you're right. As noted earlier in the year, I believe the NEP have only won both games in a back to back road situation in 4/9 most recent times. It's not easy to go on the road back to back, no matter who it is. As we know, they pulled it off once this season with games @DAL, and then @IND, although they were well rested and coming off the bye. While I don't expect them to lose any games, I can easily see them going 3-1 over the last four.

I do think they get it together and practice hard this week, coming out strong and playing tough next week @HOU, in a game that many people will predict us losing. If they can do that and prevent a 3 game losing streak, they should be able to come back and win at home the next week vs. TEN. It's possible that we will not only know much more about our chances of a bye at that point, but may also have Gronk back for one/both of the remaining divisional matchups to end the year.

 

[VectorPrime]

In Week 17 the Dolphins only motivation will be to potentially play spoiler for the Pats. They will have nothing else to play for before going golfing. As a player I would imagine thats not too exciting of a position to be in. If it were week 15 sure. But the last game of the season? Noone wants to get hurt for nothing.

So if we beat the Jets I don't think the Dolphins will be a huge problem.