Who do we match up better against? Chiefs or Steelers?

[TbSB5]

NE HAS to win next week for HFA. If we win 1st seed we face the Chiefs. If we win 2nd we face the Steelers in the divisional round. What team does NE match up better against?

We all know Steelers will destroy the Dolphins in the WC, and Chiefs will once again annihilate Houston. I dont think Pittsburgh can beat Oakland.

 

[slash83]

The better question is, who matches up with us better. People keep talking about who we hope to play, I promise you no team wants to have to come to NE and play.

 

[sb1]

We all wanted the Jets to beat the Colts in 2010 and face them in Foxboro.

Just sayin...

 

[PatsDeb]

The better question is, who matches up with us better. People keep talking about who we hope to play, I promise you no team wants to have to come to NE and play.

Agreed. If we are at home, I feel we can beat anyone. Go Pats!!

 

[SHOWTIME15]

KC has a better pass rush and secondary. so I would say pittsburgh is the better option.

 

[Kdo5]

Steelers are for sure the best matchup IMO. I have the utmost confidence that Brady can shred that defense. Meanwhile our defense should be good enough to keep the Steelers in check. They might surrender more than 14 points or whatever our avg is but it shouldn't be difficult to outscore them.

KC is a more difficult matchup but at home I'm confident also.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

NE HAS to win next week for HFA. If we win 1st seed we face the Chiefs. If we win 2nd we face the Steelers in the divisional round. What team does NE match up better against?

We all know Steelers will destroy the Dolphins in the WC, and Chiefs will once again annihilate Houston. I dont think Pittsburgh can beat Oakland.

Pats can earn 1 seed if Oakland loses regardless of Pats results.

You think Pittsburgh with its 2-time Super Bowl winning / 3-time conference winning QB can't go into a tepid Oakland (fanbase dealing with likely move issue) with their backup QB and beat them?

At the beginning of the year, I thought New England and Pittsburgh were the class of the AFC. 16 weeks later, a lot of things have happened and there have teams making progress and teams regressing, but ultimately I don't believe the initial conclusion has changed.

While it's nice to have the "easier" path, if you want to be the best, you have to be prepared to beat the best. NE got Baltimore and the Seahawks in 2014 and earned it (I think they would have annihilated the Broncos like they did the Colts in the AFC title game). NE got the trifecta of the Colts, Steelers, and Eagles in 2004 and earned it. The 2001 team got a "terrible" draw in Oakland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. But they won anyway. Conversely as noted earlier in the thread, we got the matchup we "wanted" in 2010 against the Jets. Oops.

I think this team is championship caliber. I'm fine having them prove it against the best.

 

[jimnance]

... I dont think Pittsburgh can beat Oakland.

Arguably the most head-scratching post I've seen all year.

 

[Froob]

Dolphins did wreck the Steelers once already, was in Florida but still. I don't think it's a given they can't win there.

 

[varjao]

KC because that coach/qb tandem is a joke.

 

[titletownpats]

I'm hoping that KC gets the 2 seed and the Pats only have to play one of them. For the last 15 years, my brother always gives me one of his season tickets for a playoff game. Got his gift today and he wrote your gift is a ticket to the afc championship. I'm already nervous for the divisional round. He did the same thing in 2014 so I hope it's the same result.

 

[Haterproof]

Arguably the most head-scratching post I've seen all year.

Pittsburgh would beat the breaks off Oakland without Carr!

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

I don't have much faith in smith and reid coming into foxborough and winning a playoff game. Would be nice to get lucky and get one of the wildcard teams. Forget the whole "gotta beat the best to be the best" crap. You have to beat who is on the schedule, that's it. I hope for the easiest match up every time.

 

[Brick27]

Weirder things have happened than the idea of either Pittsburgh or KC losing their first playoff game.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Arguably the most head-scratching post I've seen all year.

he didnt get memo that carr is out

 

[mosslost]

The better question is, who matches up with us better. People keep talking about who we hope to play, I promise you no team wants to have to come to NE and play.

They do want to actually.

 

[mosslost]

I don't have much faith in smith and reid coming into foxborough and winning a playoff game. Would be nice to get lucky and get one of the wildcard teams. Forget the whole "gotta beat the best to be the best" crap. You have to beat who is on the schedule, that's it. I hope for the easiest match up every time.

KC could be a wild card team.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I dunno.
But what I do know is that the Pats had better match up best against the one they play first so they have a chance to match up best again against the one they play second, if they play both of them.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Arguably the most head-scratching post I've seen all year.

Maybe a little too much Egg Nog...it can happen to the best of us...

 

[deroc5050]

We still don't know seedings yet. New England is 1 or 2.. KC is either 2 or 5, Oakland is either 1,2 or 5 All we know for sure is that the Steelers are #3 and the Texans are the #4 seed. Dolphins are 5 or 6.

And I am not even sure that Texans and Steelers cant flipflop seedings.