Colin Cowherd has his concerns about the Patriots.
New England, of course, boasts arguably the sharpest head coach in football history, and its quarterback has delivered in clutch moments time and time again over the past two decades. As such, it’s tough to completely count out the Patriots as the postseason nears, but “The Herd” host doesn’t seem too high on their Super Bowl LIV hopes. Cowherd on Tuesday slotted New England at No. 7 in his NFL power rankings heading into Week 16.
“I like their coach, and I think coaching matters at this time of the year. But they’ve become incredibly dependent on Tom Brady, at 42, taking below-average offensive personnel and saving them,” Cowherd said on FOX Sports 1. “Julian Edelman, according to various reports, is physically falling apart. They don’t have an A back, they haven’t addressed the tight end position. Now, they lead the league in plus-19 turnover differential. So, they’re going to take the ball away from you and they’re not going to give it back to you and they’ve got a great quarterback in crisis. But I think this team has a total offensive ceiling. They’ve been resorting to trick plays and blocked punts to win and I don’t think that’s getting past Kansas City and I don’t think that’s getting past Baltimore. Patriots at seven.”
Luckily for the Patriots, a mediocre offense might not nix their chances at making a deep playoff run. New England features arguably the league’s best defense, and its special-teams unit seems to have a knack for making momentum-shifting plays. Brady doesn’t need to be the world-beater he has been for the majority of his legendary career. A handful of high-impact offensive plays might be enough to get the job done for these Patriots.
As we saw with a pair of New York Giants teams, the 2015 Denver Broncos and even the 2018 Patriots to an extent, defense can win you a championship. If New England can even marginally improve on offense in the coming weeks, another deep playoff run could be in store for Bill Belichick, Brady and Co.
