5. New England Patriots
A month ago the New England Patriots looked like they were on track for the first seed in the AFC, but things have changed a lot since then. They lost three of their final four games and not only fell way off the pace of the first seed, they gave up the division to the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots have to be taken seriously because they have Bill Belichick and a solid defense, but the offense definitely isn’t what it was in Tom Brady’s hayday.
Had the Chargers been able to play their way into the playoffs I probably would have put them over the Patriots as well, despite their flaws. That having been said, I couldn’t justify putting the Raiders over them. The funny thing is, despite spending a TON of money this offseason to upgrade their offensive weapons, it still feels like they need more firepower to really give Mac Jones a chance against the best teams in the AFC.
I won’t be shocked if the Patriots are able to win on the road against the Bills on Saturday, but I definitely think they deserve to be the underdogs. They’ll need a great effort from their defense, because I just don’t think Jones and the offense will be able to keep pace with Josh Allen and company. Counting Belichick out in the playoffs is a bad idea, but even if they find a way to win this first game I just don’t see how they get out of the divisional round with that offense.