NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Cowboys find their grove, 49ers stunned by Falcons
By Dan Parzych
9. New England Patriots (9)
Despite how close things were early on, was anyone really nervous about the possibility of the New England Patriots coming up short against the Cincinnati Bengals when looking at how the two teams have compared all year?
Forget all of the controversy surrounding the Patriots over the last week, as it seemed pretty clear this would be an easy victory for New England since the Bengals only had one win to their name entering Week 15.
In a way, Sunday’s game seemed to come at the perfect time for the Patriots after suffering two tough losses in a row to the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs since even a team like New England needs a confidence booster every once in a while.
By defeating the Bengals, it will be up to the Patriots to show once again in Week 16 they do in fact deserve a potential first-round bye with a much tougher game against the Buffalo Bills.
Tom Brady and company were able to come out victorious during the first meeting between these AFC East rivals earlier in the year, but with the Bills continuing to fight for their playoff lives each week, this will be a completely different battle the second time around.