No, you are not seeing things. No, this is not a typo. The New England Patriots are playing on Wild Card Weekend. How did this happen, you ask? Well, the Pats needed a win against the lowly Dolphins at home to cement yet another WC Weekend vacation. However, the Dolphins won with a late TD, and that plus the Chiefs' win over the Chargers resulted in the Patriots playing on Wild Card Weekend for the first time since 2009. Their opponents in this week's matchup: the Tennessee Titans, coached by ex-Patriot Mike Vrabel. Vrabel has had, well, an interesting tenure as head coach of the Titans, but there have been some satisfactory results. Last year, the Titans actually defeated the Pats in the regular season, and almost made the playoffs on the final week. This year, at 9-7, the Titans locked in the last playoff spot with a dominant victory over the Texans on the final week, and they have done so behind the rejuvenated Ryan Tannehill at QB, and the 2019 rushing champion, Derrick Henry.
Notes: The Patriots have won six Super Bowls; painfully obvious, I know, but there's a point to this. The number of SBs the Pats have won without a bye: ZERO. This game is a rematch of the 2017 AFC Divisional Playoff, which the Patriots won en route to reaching Super Bowl LII. It would be a huge joy to football fans if Tennessee pulls off this upset; they won on the road two seasons ago in the playoffs. However, while the Titans will make it a game, I think NE will escape this one, and get fed to KC in the Divisional Playoff.
Prediction: Patriots by 5
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