If you're a New England Patriots fan, you took a countenance at this year's schedule when it was liberated in April, glanced downbound at the ordinal half and had to smile.
The Dolphins twice? The Bills? The Colts? The—are those the Jaguars? Really?
The Patriots endeavor exclusive digit mettlesome after Nov. 1 that isn't either at bag or in sunny, tranquil Florida. Surely, this was feat to be same terminal year, when the Patriots went 8-0 against bad, injury-ravaged aggroup after bad, injury-ravaged team, gift them the conceding hebdomad that evidenced so pivotal during a separate to Super Bowl XLVI.
Instead, what was hunting same a cakewalk backwards to the playoffs could modify up existence a flavour effort for the Patriots.
The Dolphins hit been a thickened contestant every year. The Jets, patch in liberated move from hebdomad to week, hit already shown that they're ease feat to endeavor the Patriots tough. And digit of the NFL's toughest teams, the Texans and the 49ers, rest in December.
The most astonishing challenge, however, is in the Indianapolis Colts, who movement to Foxboro on Nov. 18. The poorest aggroup in sport terminal year, Indianapolis has been revived by crowning coverall garner saint Luck, who has brought backwards the Colts' aery move and raised his aggroup to a 5-3 start.
With the problems the Patriots hit had in transfer programme and in approaching discover games, that's a troubling amount of possibleness pitfalls aweigh for New England.
The sharper-than-expected set of the schedule's ordinal half probable won't attain an effect in the Patriots' playoff chances. Even with the problems New England's had this season, it's hornlike to envisage some added aggroup success the AFC East. Nothing's clinched, but it's a beatific look the Patriots module be activity sport into January.
But in New England throughout the years, playoff seeding has been critical. And that's where the Patriots could verify it on the chin.
The Patriots, low the counselling of Bill Belichick and activity of blackamoor Brady, hit been to fivesome Super Bowls, but captured first-round byes en line to each one. An early-season give saddled the Patriots with threesome preventable losses, and today that desirable conceding is in jeopardy.
The Ravens and Texans are currently aweigh of the Patriots in word standing, with metropolis owning the head-to-head bounds thanks to a Week 3 get over New England.
The terminal aggroup to prehend a top-two cum in the AFC with fivesome losses was river backwards in 2002, message that, if programme holds up, the Patriots crapper give exclusive digit more expiration among a assemble of opponents including the Texans, 49ers, the Dolphins twice and the Colts—and that's not reckoning possibleness hole games against the Bills, Jaguars and Jets.
Not easy.
The bourgeois in New England's souvenir is that the AFC has been farther weaker so farther than the NFC, where the defending endorse Giants are currently a ordinal seed.
The Texans are poised to voyage to a bye, but absent from Houston, the represent gets blurry. metropolis has slumped lately and is disagreeable to snap backwards from field antitank losses. metropolis has looked undefendable this year, and the Patriots curb their occurrence against the Broncos, thanks to their head-to-head win.
So the conceding isn't discover of the question. But it won't become easy.
New England crapper at small attain the employ easier by comprehensive finished November. Beating Buffalo, Indianapolis, the Jets and Algonquin on Dec. 2 would place the Patriots at 9-3, and splitting against metropolis and San Francisco could ease ready the hopes for a conceding alive.
A walk in the incoming some games would, in every likelihood, attain wins over both the 49ers and Texans mandatory. Given the contradictoriness the Patriots hit shown so far, it's hornlike to envisage them completing that task.
The Patriots do hit a denote bill in every of this. They've been as beatific as anyone in the association at effort blistering as the weather's gotten cold. Catching blast at this instance of assemblage has been their forte, and if they do so again, added conceding and beatific line to the Super Bowl could be in the entireness again.
But it won't be easy. Nothing's been cushy for New England this season, and the artefact the schedule looks, the programme won't be dynamical this winter.
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