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New England Patriots: USA Today predicts they will lose in AFC Title Game

By Nick Ziegler

FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 29: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is tackled by Darius Philon #93 of the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter of a game at Gillette Stadium on October 29, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 29: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is tackled by Darius Philon #93 of the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter of a game at Gillette Stadium on October 29, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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USA Today recently released their predictions for the upcoming season. What did they predict for the New England Patriots in 2018?

Even though the New England Patriots fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl last season, they still won the AFC Championship and were one of the best teams in the NFL throughout the season.

This offseason, the Patriots have seen a good amount of changes to their roster, but they still have Tom Brady as their quarterback and Bill Belichick as their head coach. With these two, the Patriots have been pretty much a lock every season to reach the playoffs.

Coming into 2018, the Patriots are once again one of the best teams in the NFL on paper, and should be right in the hunt for another chance to win a Super Bowl. Recently USA Today released their predictions for the upcoming season. Here is how they have the AFC playoff picture shaking out.

"Wild Card: (3) Steelers def. (6) Titans; (4) Chargers def. (5) TexansDivisional: (2) Patriots def. (3) Steelers; (4) Chargers def. (1) JaguarsAFC Championship Game: (4) Chargers def. (2) Patriots"

In these predictions, the Patriots finish in second in the AFC with an 11-5 record. As expected, the Patriots won the AFC East rather easily, and were able to get a bye as the second overall seed. In the second round, the Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2 vs. 3 matchup.

However, after upsetting the No.1 overall seed Jacksonville Jaguars, the Los Angeles Chargers go up to New England and beat the Patriots. The Chargers certainly have a talented team heading into the 2018 season, as Phillip Rivers and Melvin Gordon lead a talented offense. On the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers can certainly cause a lot of problems for opposing offenses.

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For the Chargers to beat the Patriots on the road, that would be quite the feat in the AFC Championship Game. With a good pass-rush and running game, the Chargers do match-up well against the Patriots, but road playoff games in New England are challenging. Furthermore, we will have to wait and see until January if these predictions come true.

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