How Far Can the Patriots Go? And a Look at the New Year's Day Bonanza!

It will be a great holiday period for the New England Patriots.

Despite being 17-0 down at halftime against the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots rallied strongly in the 2nd half to win 27-24. The win improves their record to 12-3 and means the Patriots will have a bye for the first weekend of the playoffs. A win next weekend at home to Buffalo - a likely one it has to be said - will mean the Patriots will be the number one team in the AFC and have home advantage throughout the playoffs as long as they win all their games.

Amidst all the hype and coverage about the Green Bay Packers' quest for the perfect season and Aaron Rodgers' MVP form, the Patriots have quietly gone about their business of making the playoffs. In fact, much of the coverage of the Patriots this season has been rightly dedicated to their porous defence which has been covered up extremely well by yet another record breaking season for Tom Brady.

The Patriots lost two in a row to the Steelers and Giants and lost for the first time to Buffalo. However, since that loss to the Giants, the Patriots rallied and took advantage of the stumbles by the Ravens, Steelers and Texans to be in the driving seat for the top seed in the AFC.

They are definitely in good nick going into the playoffs.

But the weaknesses are still apparent in the side. The defence is still porous as ever but is improving. However, they've lost star defensive end, Andre Carter for the rest of the season - a big loss in my opinion. Nevertheless, they've had injuries all over the defence this season and have coped reasonably well.

But playoff football is quite different and more do-or-die, suiting the likes of the Steelers, Ravens and Jets if they make it. As the Patriots found out last season, the bye also doesn't tend to help and the Jets look fresher.

The Patriots will probably face the Jets if they make it as the Jets would be the lowest ranked team going into week 2 but they might have figured them out this season after beating them in New York for the first time in two seasons. Their chances will improve greatly if the Bengals or Raiders get through as those are teams the Patriots have done very well against in recent times.

If the Patriots are to go all the way, the offence will have to be absolutely outstanding and one of the best ever seen, given the defence will more than likely concede its 20 points. Tom Brady is having one of his best seasons if not quite his best and the offensive line has been one of the best in the NFL this season.

Brady could do with more support from his other wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco. The Ocho hasn't quite put up the numbers of his star billing unlike the other wide receivers, Wes Welker and Deion Branch and tight-ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez - perhaps the playoff stage will be the stage for him to shine since his move from the Bengals in the summer.

So conclusion, I think the Patriots can win the AFC Championship and play in a star-studded Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. They'll beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens en route to the destiny they should have reached in 2008. We'll see new records broken in the offence this post-season in what is very much a golden era for quarterbacks.

While the Patriots, Ravens and Steelers' future is guaranteed, the same can't be said about the AFC West and the NFC East.

The AFC West is now down to the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos after San Diego and Kansas City lost meaning we won't have the scenario where all teams are 8-8 and the Chiefs go through on division head-to-head record. Both Raiders and Broncos will be at home for their key encounters with the Raiders hosting the Chargers and Broncos hosting the Chiefs. A Broncos win means they'll be playing well into January. The question is after that long 6-game-winning streak, has Tim Tebow run out of puff or was that performance against Buffalo a hangover from the loss to the Patriots?

One of those AFC West games would have made NBC's Sunday Night Football if the Cowboys had beaten the by-then already eliminated Eagles on Sunday. But Michael Vick surprised and Tony Romo was KO'd early in the game and it leaves us with a winner-takes-all game in New York between the Cowboys and Giants.

These two much hated rivals take each other on for the 2nd time in a matter of weeks and the last time they played the Giants came away with the spoils. It's the division that no one wants to win and aptly it's come down to this do-or-die game. Any man would be very brave to say they know who will win this given how the season's gone.

But the tips have to be made... I'll say Tim Tebow will have one more bullet left in the armoury against the Chiefs and take the Broncos into the playoffs and Tony Romo will come back from his bruised hand and lead the Cowboys into the playoffs.

The Bengals will make the playoffs as the wildcard with the Ravens and Steelers winning their games.  

So my tip for the playoffs:

Detroit at Dallas
Atlanta at New Orleans
Pittsburgh at Denver
Cincinnati at Houston

New England, Baltimore, Green Bay, San Francisco bye