If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The New England Patriots’ dynastic run remains alive and well, and they’ve amassed unprecedented success largely by sticking to their basic principles. Bill Belichick’s “do your job” mantra routinely is manifested by every player in the Patriots locker room, and New England’s sharp attention to detail typically bears fruit.
It’s not very difficult to make a case for the Patriots to appear in a fourth consecutive Super Bowl. Belichick still is the head coach, Tom Brady still is the quarterback and New England is poised to feature one of the NFL’s stronger defenses. So as he made a case for all 32 NFL teams to reach Super Bowl LIV, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell didn’t overcomplicate things when it came to the reigning champions.
“The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions and face the easiest schedule in the league, per FPI and Football Outsiders,” Barnwell writes. “They can win the Super Bowl by continuing to be the Patriots.”
Simple enough.
New England is primed to benefit from a relatively light schedule but it will open its regular-season slate with a tall task. Belichick, Brady and Co. will welcome to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers to Gillette Stadium for the first “Sunday Night Football” showdown of the 2019 season.
