The AFC’s competitive balance is embarrassing. For the eighth straight year the New England Patriots appeared in the AFC title game. For the third straight year the Patriots won that game and will appear in the Super Bowl. The AFC is broken.
This isn’t an NFL problem. The last three NFC teams to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl showed they can be beaten. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Patriots. The Atlanta Falcons should have beat the Patriots. Instead they had an historic melt down. The Seattle Seahawks battled them to the last second only for an amazing defense play to bail out the Patriots. Eli Manning and the New York Giants beat the Patriots twice. Obviously the Patriots can be beaten.
Bill Belichick is an amazing coach probably the best ever. Tom Brady is a good quarterback. However, Belichick has been coaching in New England for 19 years. Teams should be able to figure him out eventually. He does make mistakes and he never actually plays on the field. Tom Brady is 40 years old and completely immobile. He isn’t an MVP quality player anymore. The Patriots have a distinct advantage with these two men in the organization, but they aren’t invincible. They can be beaten.
The problem is the AFC. It is broken. The other 15 teams are unable to compete effectively against the Patriots in the playoffs. Some clicks and teams fall apart. It makes the AFC boring because you know the outcome before the season starts. Hopefully something fixes this hex soon otherwise we will be watching the same old show for another 5 or whenever Brady finally retires.
