Patriots Clinch Playoff Spot After A One Year Hiatus

By: Steve Atkinson

The Patriots are going back to the playoffs a year after a dreadful 2020 season with quarterback Cam Newton. Bill Belichick has taken a rookie quarterback to the playoffs in Mac Jones and for the first time since 1999, a quarterback will be starting a playoff game not named Tom Brady. Scott Zolak was the quarterback in 1999 and they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Sunday’s blowout win over the Jaguars with Mac Jones was more like a scrimmage than anything else. The Jaguars are the worst team in football and the Patriots took care of business and destroyed them 50-10

After the Miami game next Sunday all eyes will be on the postseason. Who will the Patriots be playing question? As the fifth seed currently in the AFC if the season ended today, they would be playing the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. They beat the Bills a few weeks ago by just running the ball in terrible weather conditions. I think there is a path for the Patriots to beat Buffalo or anyone in the AFC except for Kansas City. I don’t think anyone can beat Kansas City in their building in the playoffs.

Who can we thank for the Patriots success? Tom Brady. By Brady winning the Super Bowl last season it lit a fire under Bill Belichick to do something drastic in the offseason. Acquire actual talent and draft a quarterback. Mac Jones fell to them at pick 15, then beat Cam Newton for the starting job. If Brady hadn’t won the Super Bowl last year, I believe Belichick wouldn’t have spent the money he spent, and they wouldn’t have drafted a quarterback in the first round. So yes, you can thank Tom Brady for the Patriots making the playoffs.

Patriots Have Successful Season with Clinching a Playoff Spot

Mac Jones is the best rookie quarterback this season because he has the coaching around him. He also has talent on the field as well. Bill Belichick has developed Mac Jones this year and deserves credit for the job he has done so far. Questions were asked after last season if the Patriots were ever going to be back in the playoffs again post Brady. They answered that question a year later and have ten wins on the season. There is still a path at the AFC East if the Patriots win Sunday and the Bills lose to the Jets. There is even a path to the number one seed if Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Tennessee, and the Patriots win they will be the number one seed. I doubt that will happen and it would be a good thing if they don’t get a bye.

I think the bye week during the regular season hurt this team. They were coming off a seven-game win streak and then lost two straight to the Colts and Bills. They blew the doors off the Jaguars and hopefully, they can carry that momentum to Miami and the postseason. Belichick was asked today about feeling satisfaction on clinching a playoff spot

“Definitely. Yeah. Absolutely. When you start the year, you want to be in the postseason. The fact that we’re one of the playoff teams is, obviously, part of the goal. Long way to go. We’ll see what happens, but you certainly want to be playing in the postseason. That’s the idea.”

I think there is a chance the Patriots go far in the postseason. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the Patriots and Chiefs in the AFC Championship in Kansas City. I don’t see the Patriots beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs because of the talent Kansas City has but it would be a good game. I’m excited to see what this Patriots team does in the postseason and especially Mac Jones[pickup_prop id=”18049″]