Well, the New England Patriots won another game and moved to within one game of having a perfect 16-0 regular season record. The Patriots' final opponent is the New York Giants who are locked into the 5th seed. The Giants are a little banged up and will have to play in the first round of the playoffs so there is speculation that the Giants will rest many of its key players. If that happens it will hand the Patriots their 16th win since they will bringing out Brady and company in full force to get that perfect record. That would be unfortunate if Patriots' 16th win is basically a forfeit. That will raise debates for years to come if the Patriots go on to win the Super Bowl.
There's that word: IF. There is hardly a guarantee that the Patriots are a lock to win the Super Bowl, much less the AFC. Even though the Patriots defeated the Colts earlier this season, you cannot count Peyton Manning out when it comes to the playoffs. Don't let the Chargers record fool you. They have won eight of the last ten and if it weren't for a rocky start during those first four games they might actually be playing for a first-round bye, tied for the fewest points allowed with the Patriots, and be tied with the Colts on points scored . Eventually the Patriots will have to contend with either the Colts or the Chargers and either one of them has a legitimate shot at knocking them out. In fact, I will go on record to say that the Chargers will be seeded 3rd, beat the Titans in the first round, the Colts in the second round, and then edge the Patriots for the AFC Championship.
Now there is the NFC. Favre and the Packers could be considered the 'Cinderella' story. He is having a tremendous season even for being in the twilight of his career and is finally breaking all of those career records previously held by Marion and Elway. I am hoping that it can hold up and that he makes it to the Super Bowl and wins the game and the MVP honors and then retire like Elway did. Favre has played unselfishly his entire career and to go out like that would be great to see. His problem, though, is getting past the Cowboys. He and his teammates are going to have their work cut out for them if the end up facing the Cowboys for the NFC Championship. If they do take it, then you will see this kid jumping on the Packers/Favre bandwagon. I don't hold out much hope for the Packers bringing home the Lombardi trophy but I am hopeful.
So let me leave you with one pondering thought. If the Patriots do win next week and get that perfect regular season record but then fail to win the Super Bowl, then what? Can you actually compare them to the '72 Dolphins? What about the '85 Bears who did win the Super Bowl but had one loss during the regular season? Oh, how the debate will rage on if the Patriots don't win the Super Bowl.
Tony
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