New England Patriots reclaim top spot in ESPN NFL Power Rankings
The New England Patriots have reclaimed the top spot in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers played a thrilling game in Week 15. The top two teams in the AFC, and arguably in the NFL, were expected to have a great game against each other and it lived up to the hype.
The Patriots escaped Heinz Field with a victory. An overturned touchdown reception by Jesse James with 28 seconds remaining in the game gave the Patriots hope again. They capitalized on that hope, as Duron Harmon intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass intended for Eli Rogers.
The Steelers were in hurry-up mode after the overturned call. Roethlisberger gave a hand signal to Rogers to run a route as the rest of the offense was set up for a spike. The spike never came, Roethlisberger threw an ill-advised pass and the Patriots took full advantage.
While the defense made a big stop, the offense also got the job done. The Patriots were happy to have tight end Rob Gronkowski back, as the Steelers had no answer for him in the second half.
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Gronkowski single-handily beat the Steelers on the Patriots final offensive drive of the game to take a 27-24 lead. Gronkowski caught three passes for 69 yards on the final drive to set up the Patriots score. Dion Lewis scored the touchdown from eight yards out. Gronkowski delivered the finishing blow, catching the two-point conversion and then literally pointing and laughing at the defender that attempted to slow him down.
With the victory, the Patriots once again moved to the top of ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings. Coming into the week, they were in the No. 2 spot behind the Steelers. After defeating them, they flipped spots in the power rankings.
This week in the power rankings, ESPN highlighted the player who had the most Pro Bowls on each team. That distinction for the Patriots belongs to Tom Brady.
"Tom Brady (12): Brett Favre (2009) and Warren Moon (1997) are the only quarterbacks to make a Pro Bowl at the age of 40. Brady will likely join them, as the Patriots are atop the AFC playoff picture and he’s fourth in the league in Total QBR."
Brady is doing things at the age of 40 that people can only dream of doing even at 30 years old. He has shown very few if any, signs of slowing down. He keeps leading the Patriots to victory and they are well on their way to another postseason run.
Next: Patriots Full Team Grades vs Steelers Week 15
The Patriots were lucky to get out of Pittsburgh with a victory. As a result, New England now controls their own destiny on the path to home-field advantage in the AFC. If the Patriots win their final two games, or the Steelers lose one of theirs, home field will belong to the Patriots throughout the postseason.