By Justin McKinney, Sports Editor
It was a wild weekend in the NFL to say the least, an unbeaten fell, the Jets gave the Patriots a hell of a game, and frankly if you looked at the score of the Saints v. Lions game you’d think it was being played in the NCAA rather than the NFL.
But what does it all mean for the Patriots? In my humble opinion the Patriots hopes for ring number six just got a lot brighter than they were two weeks back when they fell to the Panthers on a controversial final drive that was riddled with Patriots penalties.
First and foremost the unbeatable Chiefs looked aggressively average against a Steelers team that by all accounts has looked horrible in spurts this year.
While this Patriots team suffered an embarrassing opening season loss to the Chiefs, one thing is certain about Andy Reid coached teams; they start hot and cool off when it matters most.
Andy Reid has coached a slew of Chiefs and Eagles teams that have looked like massive Super Bowl favorites heading into week eight and by the divisional playoff round are sitting at home wondering what the hell happened. While it is impossible to tell after this one loss, I would wager this Chiefs team will fall from grace.
This week also featured a previously powerful Broncos team being trounced by a lowly Giants team. Many would have said that as of last week the Broncos and Patriots were vying for the second spot in the AFC.
As of this week, it seemed as though the Broncos have a lot of questions to answer as their powerful defense looked far from it against the Giants.
If you had asked most people who their top three Super Bowl favorites were before Sunday, most would say Patriots, Packers, and Chiefs.
However, given that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is essentially out for the remainder of the season with a broken collarbone; it is obvious that these hopes have been dashed.
The one team that could potentially be in the way of the Patriots dominating the AFC is the Steelers. That being said, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and head coach Mike Tomlin will be the downfall of that team. Roethlisberger is an out of shape and useless player, Tomlin also has no control of the locker room. It is going to catch up to the Steelers eventually.
While the Patriots defense is still a huge question mark heading into the midway point of the NFL season, the simple fact is that if any NFL coaching tandem can figure out how to take a horrid defense like the Patriots have now and work it into a winning formula it is Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick.
Belichick is a defensive mastermind that has been grooming Patricia for years and while the team has not looked great defensively thus far these two will either figure it out with who they have or trade for who they need.
It is has been said time and time again by those in Patriots nation “in Bill we trust.” I can guarantee come February this saying will ring true again as the Patriots capture Super Bowl number six.