New England Patriots resurgence only threat to Denver Broncos in AFC

When Bill Belichick chuckled at the pretty ridiculous “Will you consider benching Tom Brady?” questioned, it was almost as if his snicker was his response to all of the larger questions about the New England Patriots. Brady could have easily turned into the 2013 version of Eli Manning behind a crumbling offensive line, a group of wide receiver he wasn’t comfortable with, and a running game that didn’t seem consistent enough. But the one-week turn-around from last week’s Monday Night Football debacle against the Kansas City Chiefs to last night’s beatdown of the Cincinnati Bengals was complete 180, and I think more people need to take what J.P. Scott said seriously; the Chiefs played a darn good football game against the Patriots.

Whereas the Patriots victory was the most impressive one this week, especially when you take into account all of the storylines involved, the Denver Broncos dominant display over the Arizona Cardinals will not go unnoticed in this space. Peyton Manning bounced back from two interceptions against the ball-hawking Cardinals defense to roast the opposition, as he tossed 479 yards and four touchdowns in another display of statistical strength. Demaryius Thomas woke up and feasted on the burn-prone Antonio Cromartie, who mostly resorted to showing off his ball skills and trying to make plays of his own. The Calais Campbell injury was an interesting one, because it helped the Broncos but came at the price of calling back a 77-yard TD to Demaryius which would have eventually pushed him to the record for most receiving yards in a game.

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These two teams are clearly the most talented in the AFC, but the Bengals looked like the second-best team overall coming into last night’s game against the Pats. Not only did that dominant performance by New England allay all of the dramatic concerns that arose from last week’s blowout loss, but it also re-asserted their position in the AFC’s hierarchy.

If the Pats, Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts are the next best teams in the AFC, then how big of a gap is there between those guys and the Broncos? If you ask me, I think the gap is pretty huge, even taking into account the loss of Montee Ball. The Broncos don’t have a single weakness on the roster, and their worst “big four” unit is their rushing attack. The line is great, the passing game is elite, the pass rush is beyond ridiculous, and the secondary is, at worst, the third-best in the NFL.

The Cardinals didn’t deserve to be 3-0 and were disadvantaged yesterday due to injuries to Drew Stanton and Campbell, but it’s still impressive to rack up 479 passing yards on a secondary that includes Patrick Peterson, Cromartie, and Tyrann Mathieu. Demaryius Thomas is fully back on track after a brief “slump” complete with a few uncharacteristic drops, and with Emmanuel Sanders playing up to his potential, the Broncos passing attack looks as scary as ever. The Cardinals, despite their raw talent in the secondary, had absolutely no answers for any of the Broncos receivers. This entire team is “peaking”, but I think this “peak” is the mark of what should be a dominant season; as we saw two weeks ago, they are neck-and-neck with the Seattle Seahawks (though the edge has to go to Seattle) for the best team in the NFL. And oh yeah, Danny Trevathan is back.

I don’t know how fans who dislike the Patriots feel, but it would have been sad to see the wheels fall apart in Foxboro. Not only would this signify the end of an era and the end of the Manning-Brady debates, but it would also put a damper on the entire season. In my view, the only team that can ever threaten the Broncos is the Patriots. Nobody else in the AFC has enough depth and talent to do this, so a sudden collapse from the Patriots would have created a ludicrous gap between Denver and the rest. If the Patriots can keep it up, then the battle at the top will be at least as entertaining as it was in the 2013 season.

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