Last season had a somewhat familiar ring to it for NFL fans. The New England Patriots once again dominated the AFC East, winning their division at a canter and securing homefield advantage through the playoffs where they then progressed to the Superbowl as the AFC representatives where once again, the Patriots were triumphant, defeating a lacklustre Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the final in Atlanta, Georgia.
This coming season, the Superbowl LIV match will be played at the new Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on February 2nd 2020. The 32 teams in the NFL are now going through their final couple of weeks of preparation and warm up games ahead of the start of the season in September and the question on everybody’s lips, is whether any team has the talent to stop the Patriots from dominating the NFL once again.
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So before we take a look at the teams that could potentially be the biggest threat to New England this coming season, let’s try and put the Patriots dominance over the years into some context.
New England Patriots Domination of the NFL
- The Patriots have six Superbowl wins in total (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018), a record they hold jointly with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- The Patriots have appeared in 11 Superbowl matches in total, a record in the NFL.
- They have appeared in the Superbowl in four of the last five seasons in the NFL, losing just the once (in 2017 to the Philadelphia Eagles).
- They have won the AFC East a record 20 times, including every year since 2003 except for the 2008 season.
- They have won the AFC Conference Championship 11 times in total.
- They have appeared in the Playoffs 26 times in total and in every season since 2009.
- Quarterback Tom Brady (41) has appeared in nine Superbowls, winning six of them. This is the highest number of appearances and victories in the game in NFL history.
- Brady has also been selected to 14 Pro Bowls, which ties the NFL record for selections to the All-Star game.
- Brady is the only quarterback ever to amass 200 regular season wins, he also holds the record for playoff wins (30) and appearances (40) for any NFL player in history.
Who can Challenge New England this season?
Of the 31 teams in the NFL hoping to usurp New England as Superbowl Champions next February, there are some that are more likely to contend than others. We will take a look at each of these teams below based on the conference in which they play.
AFC Challengers
Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars ran New England close a couple of years ago, but were poor last season. Now with 2017 Superbowl MVP Nick Foles at quarterback, the Jaguars should be able to find an offense to match their superb defense. I expect them to challenge strongly in the AFC South and could be a real test for New England in the playoffs.
Cleveland Browns – So often the butt of jokes because of their poor performance going back over many, many years, this season the Cleveland Browns seem to have all the right ingredients to do well in the AFC North. Baker Mayfield is a massive upgrade at quarterback and with Odell Beckham Jr and Kareem Hunt added to the roster, there is real strength in depth. The question is if this team can gel and if they can, they could be a real surprise in the AFC North.
Kansas City Chiefs – Under Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs emerged as the biggest threat to New England last season and I can see them being the quality side to emerge from the AFC West once again this season, even though I expect the Los Angeles Chargers to push them hard. The team has some explosive talent on it, including Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watson and Carlos Hyde but they’ll need to tighten up defensively if they are to stop Brady and Co this season.
NFC Challengers
Los Angeles Rams – The Rams pushed the Patriots hard in the Superbowl last year and but for the fact that Todd Gurley was clearly hampered by injury, they may well have earned a victory. This is a very talented, young team with a year’s more experience and they are playing in one of the easiest divisions in the NFC. I expect the Rams to win their division and to be there or thereabouts when it comes to Superbowl places from this conference.
New Orleans Saints – Long serving coach Sean Payton always seems to have his Saints team ready for the key games and I can see them being the standout performers once again in their NFC South division. Drew Brees is the key to the Saints and although he is now vastly experienced, he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the game. With Brees in form, the Saints stand a chance against any team.
Chicago Bears – After many years of struggling, the Chicago Bears finally found a winning formula last season and emerged as the winners of the AFC North for the first time since 2010. Mitchell Trubisky is a fine quarterback and with a talented receiver corps and a very strong defense, led by Khalil Mack and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, this is a very talented side that will rely on its defense once again in the new season.
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