Brady and Patriots don’t get usual rest
Tom Brady and the defending champion New England Patriots aren’t getting their usual bye week to rest, relax and recharge.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens earned the AFC’s top seed for the first time since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs earned the No. 2 seed, a holiday gift from the Patriots, whose stunning 2724 loss to Miami at home last weekend sent New England into the wildcard round for the first time in a decade.
“Just too many bad mistakes,” Brady lamented.
And too many bad breaks for the Patriots, a team that features a terrific defense but a sputtering offense behind an aging Brady, who
has averaged just 197 yards on 59 percent passing in his last four games and who posted his lowest passer rating since 2006.
The Bradyled Patriots have never reached the Super Bowl while playing in the wildcard round.
“We talk about it each year, each team has their own journey and this is our journey,“Patriots safety Devin McCourty said.
The Patriots host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and the Buffalo Bills visit the Houston Texans to kick off wildcard weekend.
1. BALTIMORE RAVENS (14-2)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 1. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 47, 3431 over San Francisco on Feb. 1, 2013. Last year: No. 4 seed, lost wildcard game at home to Los Angeles Chargers 2317. Second consecutive trip to AFC playoffs.
Since their last loss, way back in late September, the Ravens have been virtually unstoppable on offense and exceedingly stingy on defense. That combination has produced 12 straight victories, and during that span no team came close to putting the breaks on Jackson and the league’s highestscoring team. Not only did Jackson set an NFL singleseason record for yards rushing by a QB, but he also threw 36 TD passes. Baltimore is 193 with Jackson as a starter during the regular season, including 132 this year.
2. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (12-4)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 4. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 4, 237 over Minnesota on Jan. 11, 1970. Last year: No. 1 seed, beat Indianapolis Colts 3113 at home in divisional round, lost to New England 3731 (OT) in AFC championship at home. Fifth consecutive trip to AFC playoffs.
The Chiefs’ biggest strength the past couple of years has been their offense, led by reigning league MVP Mahomes and with a group of highpowered playmakers including TE Travis Kelce, WRs Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins and RB Damien Williams. But their emerging defense may be even more crucial to postseason success. It held backtoback opponents without a TD before holding the Chargers in check in KC’s regularseason finale.
3. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-4)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 7. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 53, 133 over Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3, 2019. Last year: No. 2 seed, beat Los Angeles Chargers 4128 at home in divisional round, beat Kansas City Chiefs 3731 (OT) on road in AFC championship, beat Rams at
Super Bowl 53 in MercedesBenz Stadium in Atlanta. Eleventh consecutive trip to AFC playoffs.
One of the surprises of the 2019 season was how inconsistent the Patriots were on offense as Brady relied heavily on veteran Julian Edelman while trying to work with a group of young receivers. But New England still has a shot to make it back to its fourth consecutive Super Bowl thanks to a defense that allowed a leaguelow 14.1 points per game. CB Stephon Gilmore leads a defense that had 38 takeaways and makes New England a very tough out.
4. HOUSTON TEXANS (10-6)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 10. No Lombardis. Last year: No. 3 seed, lost to Indianapolis Colts 217 at home in wild card. Second consecutive trip to AFC playoffs.
The Texans are only as good as QB Deshaun Watson. He’s shown a penchant for coming up huge in big games but wasn’t great in his playoff debut last year. The Texans rested him last week and he should be fresh to take on the Bills. Watson threw 26 TD passes and Houston’s offense can be dangerous if he can figure out a way to rediscover the consistency he had early in the season when he had three 300yard passing performances in five games.
5. BUFFALO BILLS (10-6)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 9. No Lombardis. Last year: 610. First trip to AFC playoffs since 2017.
The Bills are at their best when secondyear QB Josh Allen doesn’t force throws. Allen is 101 overall when attempting 29 or fewer passesand82whennotcommitting a turnover in a game he starts and finishes. The Bills’ offense relies on a balanced attack, and playing complementary football with a defense that’s held opponents to under 300 yards eight times this season.
6. TENNESSEE TITANS (9-7)
AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 12. No Lombardis. Last year: 97. First trip to AFC playoffs since 2017.
The Titans are dangerous if Pro Bowl RB Derrick Henry keeps running like the NFL rushing leader with 1,540 yards in 15 games. Henry ran for 211 yards in the regularseason finale after taking a game off to rest his sore left hamstring. Henry is why Tennessee’s playaction threat is so effective, and QB Ryan Tannehill has shown pinpoint accuracy, leading the NFL in both passer rating at 117.5 and 9.59 yards per pass attempt. That’s how Tennessee has averaged 30.4 points in Tannehill’s 10 starts.