Playoff outlook

Triumph · Nov 3, 2022

PatsFan2 said:
If their Top WR J Chase is still out by then.

Mac and the offense will carve them up.

tasmlab · Nov 3, 2022

If the regular season match ups against the Bills are sure-thing losses because of how good they are, then the Pats just get chewed up by them in the playoffs if they make it, yes?

I'd be perfectly happy with an extra game or two in January, but it would be a lot more fun if the Pats could figure out how to hang with the Bills in some way during the regular season. Hard to see, though.

Patnation21 · Nov 3, 2022

Calhoun44 said:
Another thing...I don't think LV is going to be a huge homefield advantage against NE. NE fans are gonna be happy to make that a road trip game and the Raiders are playing way worse than us.

You could be right, I hope you are. I just haven't seen anything from this team to make me feel that way yet.

The big thing will be to get Mac back on track and get him rolling. These next two games might be good for him to find his confidense.

Patnation21 · Nov 3, 2022

Hyped said:
1.) Our most important remaining match ups are: IND, NYJ, CIN, and MIA. All of those are in Foxboro. We gotta go 3-1 here at minimum, IMO.

2.) Our toughest road match ups are: @MIN, @BUF, @ARI, and @LVR. The latter two are back to back...so we likely stay out west for that...I like our chances of taking both games...ain't no gimmie...but I like the idea of us staying out west for 2 weeks. And @MIN is on Thanksgiving...with both teams coming off a 4 day rest...the Vikings will have played Dallas on Sunday. Anything can happen. @BUF....OK.....no way do the winds help us again, LOL. But...it is the LAST GAME of the year. Maybe the Bills will be resting guys...who knows...and maybe we may have already locked a playoff berth by that time just like last year's game down in Miami that we didn't need. I believe we can do 2-2.

3.) Then there's the show down vs. the Bills on December 1st in Foxboro. This is a Thursday nighter, but both teams will have had 7 days to prepare after going to @MIN and @DET on Turkey day. This is the key game, IMO...if we win this game...we likely finish 10-7. If we lose this game...we need to go 4-0 in the other home games (#1 above) or 3-1 on the remaining road games (#2).

That's a good point about the last game of the year, the Bills most likely should have everything locked up and will rest most starters for that game or at least by half time. I never thought about that, that could be key for us.

Patnation21 · Nov 3, 2022

40yrpatsfan said:
It's not an easy schedule, I agree with you on that, but I look at it this way. We should win the next 2 games, which you're agreeing with. That means we'd have to lose 6 of our last 7 to go 3-6. That's just not happening.

We should win the next two but we should have beat the Bears but we lost by 19 instead. If we win the next two games that will definately go a long way. I don't think any game is gonna be easy for this team though considering how difficult it was beating the Jets and even Pittsburgh. Were not good enough to think any game will be easy.

Our season will come down to Mac Jones. If he continues to play like he has for most of this year, were in trouble. These next few games should tell us where were headed for the remainder of the season.

Calhoun44 · Nov 3, 2022

Patnation21 said:
We should win the next two but we should have beat the Bears but we lost by 19 instead. If we win the next two games that will definately go a long way. I don't think any game is gonna be easy for this team though considering how difficult it was beating the Jets and even Pittsburgh. Were not good enough to think any game will be easy.

Our season will come down to Mac Jones. If he continues to play like he has for most of this year, were in trouble. These next few games should tell us where were headed for the remainder of the season.

It's a tough league that we got spoiled in for a long time. If you look at almost every team in the league and their results you will see similar head scratchers. Teams losing to teams that you wouldn't think they would lose to and teams barely winning games that seem like huge mismatches. Also, good and consistent teams capitalize on bad QB play or poor coaching, those things should be applauded when your team does it. Not used as a way to say, "we would have lost if the QB didn't give the game away, we suck" (Not sure you say that, but I have read those type of comments recently). What we are experiencing now is normal NFL team behavior, what happened for 20 years, was the most historic run a franchise has ever seen. I think the team will bounce back and respond well to the bye week, until they don't, I will believe in them. Go Pats! I love watching this group of players, very entertaining (yet sometimes frustrating).

Hyped · Nov 3, 2022

40yrpatsfan said:
Buf-KC-Bal-Ten will be division winners, with Mia a lock for a wild card, leaving 2 slots. I think NE, LA, and Cin will be the ones competing for those, and everyone else will have losing records and be out. 9-8 could be enough to get a WC, but would likely involve a tiebreaker, whereas 10-7 should get us in clean.

Sitting at 4-4, if we don't win the next 2 games at home vs Indy & Jets, then the playoffs discussion is probably over. I'm assuming we will, and that the question is how we'll do in the final 7 weeks. Getting to 10-7 requires us going 4-3 in those games, meaning we'd have to win 1 of the 4 games against Minn-Mia-Buffalo (x2), while being perfect against Ariz, LV, and Cinc. Getting to just 9-8 would mean we could lose all 4 of those games vs Min-Mia-Buf.

The Cinci and Miami games at home are shaping up to be the games of the year for us. Both are winnable, and we'll need to at least split to have any chance. We can't count on Buffalo taking the last week off because KC will be breathing down their neck for the #1 seed.

Yip...have to take it one game at a time.

jdlboot14 · Nov 3, 2022

The problem with Mac is that clearly Matty P is back to his psychological games threatening Mac that if he throws the wrong read, he's going to sit on him like Calais Campbell.
The reason Mac flourished last year is he was allowed to just throw the ball. He's too jammed up with fear of perfection, and being benched any minute for a bad pass. What he needs is a good ole' Bledsoe to Brady pep talk, "to hell with that, go sling it".

Patnation21 · Nov 4, 2022

Calhoun44 said:
It's a tough league that we got spoiled in for a long time. If you look at almost every team in the league and their results you will see similar head scratchers. Teams losing to teams that you wouldn't think they would lose to and teams barely winning games that seem like huge mismatches. Also, good and consistent teams capitalize on bad QB play or poor coaching, those things should be applauded when your team does it. Not used as a way to say, "we would have lost if the QB didn't give the game away, we suck" (Not sure you say that, but I have read those type of comments recently). What we are experiencing now is normal NFL team behavior, what happened for 20 years, was the most historic run a franchise has ever seen. I think the team will bounce back and respond well to the bye week, until they don't, I will believe in them. Go Pats! I love watching this group of players, very entertaining (yet sometimes frustrating).

Well said.

The league has def changed. It's ridiculous how close most teams are, no game is easy that's why I never assume were gonna win games that might look easy on paper, especially now with how erratic Mac has been.

The Jets are a QB away from being a real problem, they have a top 10 defense and offense wasn't far behind before Hall got injured. Miami is buiding something nice and we all know how good Buffalo is. Wasn't that long ago the AFC East was a dumpster fire besides NE. You're def right about not seeing a team like NE dominate a division for so long, might not see that again.

One-If-By-Sea · Nov 4, 2022

Patnation21 said:
Well said.

The league has def changed. It's ridiculous how close most teams are, no game is easy that's why I never assume were gonna win games that might look easy on paper, especially now with how erratic Mac has been.

The Jets are a QB away from being a real problem, they have a top 10 defense and offense wasn't far behind before Hall got injured. Miami is buiding something nice and we all know how good Buffalo is. Wasn't that long ago the AFC East was a dumpster fire besides NE. You're def right about not seeing a team like NE dominate a division for so long, might not see that again.

Agree, but a QB away is a long ways away.

Seacoast Fan · Nov 4, 2022

sb1 said:
Pats have 2 conference losses. Steelers made it last year at 9-7-1 with 5 conference losses. Ideally the Patriots won’t lose more than 2.

The Dolphins game is enormous they need that one or we lose out H2H on the tiebreaker and gives us 2 division losses already with Billsx2 and Jets TBD.

UrbanCowboy · Nov 4, 2022

Patnation21 said:
Well said.

The league has def changed. It's ridiculous how close most teams are, no game is easy that's why I never assume were gonna win games that might look easy on paper, especially now with how erratic Mac has been.

The Jets are a QB away from being a real problem, they have a top 10 defense and offense wasn't far behind before Hall got injured. Miami is buiding something nice and we all know how good Buffalo is. Wasn't that long ago the AFC East was a dumpster fire besides NE. You're def right about not seeing a team like NE dominate a division for so long, might not see that again.

Cincinnati agrees after getting curb-stomped by the Browns!

Patnation21 · Nov 5, 2022

One-If-By-Sea said:
Agree, but a QB away is a long ways away.

100%

I've heard next year's draft has some potentially great QB's in it.

Dragda · Nov 5, 2022

Health at OL is worrisome. I think it’s whatever team is the healthiest down the stretch of all these middle tier contenders.

cmasspatsfan · Nov 5, 2022

jdlboot14 said:
The problem with Mac is that clearly Matty P is back to his psychological games threatening Mac that if he throws the wrong read, he's going to sit on him like Calais Campbell.
The reason Mac flourished last year is he was allowed to just throw the ball. He's too jammed up with fear of perfection, and being benched any minute for a bad pass. What he needs is a good ole' Bledsoe to Brady pep talk, "to hell with that, go sling it".

Thanks for that inside report, you good friends with Mac or Patricia? No one else knows this.

Joker · Nov 6, 2022

cmasspatsfan said:
Thanks for that inside report, you good friends with Mac or Patricia? No one else knows this.

I knew it...( I just didn't say anything... )

Triumph · Nov 6, 2022

jdlboot14 said:
The problem with Mac is that clearly Matty P is back to his psychological games threatening Mac that if he throws the wrong read, he's going to sit on him like Calais Campbell.
The reason Mac flourished last year is he was allowed to just throw the ball. He's too jammed up with fear of perfection, and being benched any minute for a bad pass. What he needs is a good ole' Bledsoe to Brady pep talk, "to hell with that, go sling it".

Sleepy Joe Judge is the QB coach too.

Look what Daboll has done with Dan Jones.

1960Pats · Nov 6, 2022

sturmrider said:
I am a hardcore fan and been supporting the Patriots since their inception. Unfortunately I just don't see us getting there this year. I have noticed as fans now we have no patience. When Brady left we all expected at most a 3 year rebuild and many seem to have felt that was too slow.

I see too many weaknesses right now and they can't be easily addressed because there is a shortage of many of these players throughout the league. For example Offensive Tackles most teams would do anything for a premier left tackle, but how many are there in the league right now, and I just don't feel the way college ball is going that they are preparing Olinemen for the pros as well as they used to.

I think Fantasy Football was the death knell of good football all the fans want now is good numbers for their fantasy team and it has led to everyone categorizing players based on their fantasy output rather then what they do to help the team in the big picture.

Just some rambling from this old fogey, I hope you are right, but even if we get there I think we will be one and done. I just hope they go forward building a good foundation for the team then things will turn around again.

I've also been around since the beginning, though the first game that I went to wasn't until they played at Fenway Park later in the 60s. They played the Chargers and Ernie Ladd. I still have vivid memories of Ladd coming out in pregame with no pads and banging into the padding on the goalpost in RF to get it swaying back and forth.

I remember when I used to get more excited about football games, even before Brady. Hockey games used to drive me nuts too. I'm not sure if it's because I'm older that I'm calmer. The fact that the Pats left a dynastic mark on the rest of the NYFL also helps me laugh things off now.

I remember when it came out that Kraft and Jerry Jones were heavy investors in DraftKings and FanDuel. That's when I knew that Fantasy Football was the thing of the future. I still think it's a little shaky to have owners involved in gambling. They make the rules for the game.

1960Pats · Nov 6, 2022

Nehalem said:
If the Patriots had beat Chicago, then all 3 AFC wild card teams would currently be from the AFCE

It really is startling how much better the AFCE is than the rest of the AFC. I know the NFCE may have a better record but they get to play the AFCS, which is the weakest AFC division by a country mile.

1960Pats · Nov 6, 2022

Ross12 said:
I’m gonna say 10-7 with losses to the Bills x1, Cardinals and Bengals.

That's the record I came out with from Ian's thread at the beginning of the year. Before that I took under 8.5 wins for 20K dinglebucks though.
The Pats don't look as strong as I hoped they be by this point in the season but they usually get better. Either of those predictions could win.

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