Should the New England Patriots shelve their dreams of winning Super Bowl LIV?
ESPN’s Dan Graziano insisted Monday the answer is “no” when he wrote it’s not an “overreaction” to believe the Patriots still will win the Super Bowl.
Graziano based his argument on one simple idea — benefit of the doubt — hours after the Patriots suffered a controversial 23-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14, dropping New England’s record to 10-3.
“The Patriots will win the Super Bowl: Not an overreaction,” Graziano wrote. “But really only because history grants them the benefit of the doubt. They do not look like a team capable of outscoring other playoff teams right now. Houston beat them up a week ago, and Kansas City held them off in their place this week. All is not well in House Belichick, and there are real problems to be solved if they’re to repeat. We’ve just seen Brady and Belichick solve their problems too many times to rule them out.”
The Patriots will face the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in the final three weeks of the regular season. New England’s remaining opponents have a combined 13-26 record, with the 9-4 Bills providing the vast majority of those wins and representing the final stiff test of the Patriots’ season.
If New England finishes 13-3 and enters the NFL playoffs on a three-game winning streak and with the benefit of a bye week, the momentum and benefits of time off undoubtedly will boost the Patriots’ prospects of postseason success. However, it’s uncertain if the boost will be powerful enough to propel the Patriots past teams that have beaten them — the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and Chiefs — all the way to Miami, where Super Bowl LIV will take place.
