NFL Playoffs 2016: AFC Matchups, Patriots Rooting Guide

The 2015 NFL regular season is over, and now we are on to the postseason. Our New England Patriots have stumbled into the playoffs, losing four of their last six, and sliding down to the second seed in the AFC.

Here is the AFC playoff bracket:

For the Patriots, I would be rooting for the Steelers and Texans to win their respective wild-card matchups. If that happened, New England would host the Texans in the divisional round, and likely get the Steelers at home in the conference championship, because I don’t see Peyton Manning beating Big Ben and that offense in their matchup.

6 frustrations from Week 17 loss

Not only did the Pats just obliterate the Texans on the road, but they did it without Julian Edelman, Dont’a Hightower, and Rob Gronkowski was still fairly limited. Houston’s offense won’t be able to do much against this Patriots defense, and with all of his weapons finally healthy, Brady will be able to put up at least 30 against J.J. Watt and company (scored 27 without Edelman).

Patriots react to Week 17 embarrassment     

That is the ideal scenario, but I don’t think that is how it will play out. In reality, I believe the Chiefs will beat Houston, and the Steelers will beat the Bengals. That would mean the Pats host Kansas City in the divisional round, while Denver would still have to deal with the Steelers. The Chiefs would be a slightly tougher matchup for Bill Belichick’s team, but their inability to score points on offense will ultimately come back to bite them in a playoff matchup against Tom Brady and a healthy offense.

The bottom line is this: New England has not looked good as of late, but they will be as healthy as they possibly can be for this playoff run, and when this team is healthy, they are very tough to beat. It should be a fun ride.

Next: AFC Power Rankings: End of regular season edition

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