New England Patriots Are Biggest Winners From Monday Night Football
By Connor Fulton
@ConnorFultonRS
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Even though they didn’t throw on any pads, the New England Patriots had more to celebrate about on Monday Night Football than the Cincinnati Bengals, and they are certainly on a better trajectory right now than the Denver Broncos. With home-field advantage locked up, the Patriots have checked off another preseason goal and are one step closer to making a deep run in the playoffs.
Home-field advantage is like a bachelor’s degree; it’s not guaranteed that you will ink a six-figure job, but you are surely more likely to do so if you have that piece of paper. The Patriots are not guaranteed a Super Bowl berth by any means, but this latest development surely helps. However, it’s hard not to do a little jig knowing that the Patriots won’t have to travel to dreaded Denver, one of the hardest venues to win in the playoffs, if they advance to the AFC championship game.
In effect, the Patriots have over two weeks to rest beat-up starters like Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount, Dan Connolly and Kyle Arrington. Against the Buffalo Bills this week, it would be somewhat surprising to see Tom Brady play the entire game as well. Expect starters across the depth chart to see limited action on Sunday — enough to keep off the rust, but not too much so as to avoid costly injuries.
In addition to rest, lowered stress levels in the regular season finale will allow the Patriots to get the gears turning on game planning for their potential opponents in the Divisional Round.
That said, don’t expect the Patriots to completely roll over against Buffalo. Bill Belichick and Brady hate losing, no matter the scenario. Although the Patriots will be mindful of health and overexertion of resources, look for the Patriots to win the first game of what will hopefully be a three-game homestand before taking the plane out to the Arizona desert in February.
Connor Fulton is a Patriots writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on <Google
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