Many around the NFL believe that the Sunday night thriller between the Patriots and Broncos two weeks ago was an AFC Championship preview.
Kellen Winslow is apparently a subscriber to that notion, as well, despite being currently employed by New England’s biggest rival.
“I got the pats vs broncos in AFC championship game and Panthers vs Seahawks in NFC championship,” the Jets tight end tweeted Monday in a — later deleted — reply to former Patriots wideout Donte Stallworth, as first noted by Newsday’s Kimberley A. Martin.
Both the Patriots and Broncos were tested this past weekend (by the Texans and Chiefs, respectively) before pulling out close wins. Relatively weak remaining schedules make them still the favorites to nab the top two spots in the AFC, though, which would set the stage for a potential Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rematch with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The second part of Winslow’s prediction isn’t looking too shabby, either, as the Seahawks thoroughly demolished New Orleans on Monday to nab the league’s first playoff bid and Carolina downed Tampa Bay to win its eighth straight game. A pair of matchups with the Saints still loom for the Panthers, however, giving them the toughest remaining slate of any of Winslow’s favorites.
As for the tight end’s own team? The Jets are still mathematically alive, but after consecutive three-point efforts in losses to the Ravens and Dolphins, it’ll take nothing short of divine intervention to get Gang Green into the postseason.
