The New England Patriots always seem to land on their feet, don't they?
Despite uncharacteristic losses to poor opponents -- all five of New England's defeats were to teams that missed the playoffs -- the Patriots secured a first-round NFL playoff bye for the ninth consecutive season by beating the New York Jets on Sunday. They weren't able to overtake Kansas City for the top seed in the AFC playoffs, but Tom E. Curran makes a convincing argument that they're better off at No. 2.
And the oddsmakers apparently agree. According to them, the Pats' chances of winning the Super Bowl keep getting better. New England now is at +650 to win Super Bowl LIII, per OddsShark, an improvement from its +800 odds earlier this month.
The No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs still are the favorites to win the AFC, but the No. 2 seed Patriots are right behind them. Oddsmakers apparently see the AFC as a two-team race, with the No. 4 seed Baltimore Ravens at a distant +1300 to win the title.
What does the Patriots' path to Atlanta look like? Here's a look at next weekend's AFC Wild Card matchups:
New England Patriots
Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET: No. 3 Houston Texans vs. No. 6 Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET: No. 4 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers
New England will play either the Texans, Chargers or Ravens on Sunday, Jan. 13, in a rare afternoon Divisional Round matchup for Bill Belichick's squad.
Here are the team's three potential scenarios for the Divisional Round:
The Patriots play the Texans if... Houston beats Indy.
The Patriots play the Ravens if... Indy beats Houston and Baltimore beats L.A.
The Patriots play the Chargers if... Indy beats Houston and L.A. beats Baltimore.
The Texans are favored to beat the Colts, and if they take care of business, Kansas City would get a tough Divisional Round matchup against either the Ravens or Chargers. And if the Chiefs were to lose that game, the Patriots actually could host the AFC Championship Game by beating Houston at home in the Divisional Round.
That's a lot of counting chickens before they hatch. But considering the panic that swept through New England earlier this month after back-to-back losses to the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots' playoff outlook seems quite rosy.
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