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It utilized to be that this time of year Steelers fans would be focusing on 2 things.
1. How can we talk ourselves into thinking the Steelers are going to be much better than the year before?
And
2. How can we talk ourselves into believing the Patriots are going to be worse than the year before?
Betonline.ag and FoxBet.com both have the Chiefs as the favorites to win the Super Bowl, with Baltimore a close second. Both are heavy favorites to win their departments, too.
Lets draw up this discussion.
From there, the AFC is a jumbled mess. FoxBet sets every over/under win total at 8.5 or lower for all four teams in the AFC South. Thats probably not far off. Ill throw a few bucks on the South winner being no better than 10-6. Most likely 9-7.
That leaves the AFC East and the wild-card groups, where well most likely find the Patriots and Steelers lobbying for position. FoxBet has both teams at over/under 9.5 wins.
No, Pittsburghs Patriots paranoia isnt as much fun as it used to be. Pittsburgh football fans are simply attempting to determine how their team is going to make the playoffs again for the very first time considering that 2018.
For our functions, were going to pencil those two groups in as the first and 2nd seeds in the AFC playoff tree, with the front runner getting the bye.
That gets New England right into that 9.5 over/under overall and AFC East contention if thats the case. If not, how about jockeying with the Steelers for the very first or 2nd wild-card slot?
The win-total dip the Patriots might experience in 2020 could bring them right into the same area of the AFC standings as where the Steelers ought to wind up. In the past for the Steelers and Patriots, thats been battling for house field advantage in the playoffs.
It definitely will not take 11 wins to make the AFC playoff bracket in 2020. With a seventh group being included, I d be stunned if the last group needs more than 9 wins. I wouldnt be the least bit surprised if the last club to certify was 8-8 or 9-7.
Sorry Steelers fans. I agree that Baltimore may not go 14-2 once again. I do not think theyll fall back far enough for the Black and Gold to capture them atop the AFC North.
Now it might be for being among the last teams into them. Or, potentially as first-round opponents. Whereas prior to Newtons arrival, I was expecting the Patriots being on the beyond the cutline.
For the Steelers, that one is pretty much on the nose to me. Ive been calling them a 10-6 team for months now, and Im standing by it. Ive looked at the Buffalo Bills as winning the East at 11-5. Now with Newton in the mix, I believe its a toss-up between those two clubs at 10-6, likely getting the 3rd seed in the conference.
The Patriots may have to fret about making the playoffs as a wild card for the first time considering that 2008. Thats when Brady was lost for the year throughout the season opener, and the Patriots lost out on the postseason with an 11-5 record. The franchise has won the AFC East every year ever since.
Is a possibly healthy– emphasis on potentially– Newton worth 3 or 4 more triumphes than Stidham or Hoyer? I d say so.
Why not? Did you think without Brady that the Patriots would plunge all the method to a five-win group? Probably not.
So, while Steelers fans carry their eyes towards the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs as the teams to find in the AFC, that should not derail them from keeping some great ol fashioned New England angst.
The Patriots certainly have a better chance of striking those marks– or better– with freshly signed quarterback Cam Newton as Bradys replacement instead of unverified second-year beginner Jarrett Stidham, or journeyman Brian Hoyer.
This year, that should be easier than ever. After all, the Steelers are getting Ben Roethlisberger back at quarterback. And the Patriots lost Tom Brady at quarterback.
Not too nutty, is it?
I can easily picture a 10-win Steelers team getting the top wild card. On the other hand, the Patriots win the East at 10-6 however lose on a tiebreak to the Titans winning the South at 10-6. So Tennessee is the third seed and the Patriots are fourth.
See you in Massachusetts for Round 1 of the playoffs!
This is all method too presumptive. A far too nuanced method of stating that few things in the AFC are known beyond the reality that the Chiefs and Ravens are truly excellent.
Or a secret wild-card group appears to 10 or 11 wins and bumps both the Pats and Steelers down a called. Now maybe New England and Pittsburgh are vying for seeding to avoid a trip to K.C. or Baltimore in the preliminary.
2 other things you could most likely count on, though, are that the Steelers will be a couple of video games much better, and the Patriots will be a couple of games even worse.
Simply not in the same lofty genuine estate atop the conference they mutually held so often over the past 20 years.
With (a healthy) Newton taking snaps instead of Stidham or Hoyer that margin gets a lot narrower in New England. When more, and it most likely aligns the Steelers and Patriots in mutual business.
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Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can call Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets might be reposted. All e-mails are subject to publication unless defined otherwise.
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The Patriots might have to stress about making the playoffs as a wild card for the very first time considering that 2008. Thats when Brady was lost for the year during the season opener, and the Patriots missed out on the postseason with an 11-5 record. Whereas prior to Newtons arrival, I was expecting the Patriots being on the exterior of the cutline.
Did you think without Brady that the Patriots would drop all the method down to a five-win team? The Patriots win the East at 10-6 however lose out on a tiebreak to the Titans winning the South at 10-6.
