Top 10 favorites for Super Bowl LI

2. New England Patriots

The Deflategate Revenge Tour came up just short, and you can bet no one is probably happier than Roger Goodell with how the AFC title game played out. Peyton Manning now gets an opportunity to try and improve his postseason credibility versus his chief rival, while Tom Brady gets nothing more than the sinking feeling that he and his team came this far only to leave empty-handed. If Manning and the Broncos somehow pull off the upset against the Panthers, it will undoubtedly reopen the floodgates on the whole Manning/Brady debate as to who’s better.

Regardless of what happens in two weeks, though, the Patriots shouldn’t be hanging their heads too low. They have an excellent shot at returning to a sixth straight conference championship game next season, especially if the roster can find some relief from the plague of injuries they had to withstand this year. It all starts with Brady, of course, but getting a full 16 games out of both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman would put New England in a favorable position to reclaim the AFC’s top seed. If Dion Lewis returns from a torn ACL and resumes his status as one of the league’s shiftiest backs, the Pats’ offense should revert to its lethal ways from earlier this season.

The defense should also improve with overachieving youngsters Malcolm Butler, Jamie Collins, and Malcom Brown all another year older and more comfortable in Bill Belichick’s system.

Next: 1. Carolina Panthers