Top 10 favorites for Super Bowl 55
By Nick Villano
5. New England Patriots
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The New England Patriots did not make the AFC Championship for the first time since Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” was on the top of the charts and the number-one movie in the U.S. starred Ashton Kutcher. Now, Tom Brady could be going to another team, the offense is still basically without any weapons after failing on just about every draft pick, and the defense is going to be asked a lot.
However, it’s a really good defense. It’s likely the best in the league, and it boasts the latest defensive player of the year in Stephon Gilmore. The whole unit is amazing, and even more important, deep. The cornerback unit is pretty insane. The safeties are up for free agencies, but many of them can be great. The linebacking core is one of the best in the league, and the defensive line is fine.
Still, they are lucky to stay in the top five after how badly things ended. At the end of the day, they will always have Bill Belichick. When a team has the best head coach in football history, they are always going to get the benefit of the doubt when there are questions. This is still the Patriots. They may be at the end of their insane dynasty, but they’re just one year removed from a Super Bowl win.