What team can beat the patriots and what do they have to do to beat them?

Question

I am a chargers fan and despite the crushing loss last year i think that the chargers do have what it takes to beat New England, and unless jacksonville beats them our road will go through New England. What has to happen for the pats to go down

just want to point out that while brady might be much better than rivers, LT is way better than moroney

Answer 1

I think your chargers will have the best chance. I do agree that Rivers cannot match Brady but he won't have to. LT is the weapon. Pats are still suspect against the run, and LT and the other running back for chargers can exploit that. Plus They can keep the Pats potent offence off the ground and tire out their defence.

From aussie fan!

Answer 2

Colts, Packers have best chance. But any team could step it up and win.

1. Pass the football well
2. Stop Randy Moss from SCORING
3. Win turnover war.


New England's defensive strength is stopping the run, but they cannot handle good passing this year, and so far that doesn't matter if Randy Moss and Brady take over the game.

Minnesota had a year like New England with Moss several years ago. What happened? Teams made it priority to not let Moss score and the Vikings folded the following years.

Oh Steelers, Jags and Chargers do not match up well against New England...unless they pass the ball a lot more.

Answer 3

I think that right now only two teams can pose a threat to Patriots: the Colts if healthy, and the Jags.

Patriots always find a ways to win. If Moss cannot score because of double even triple protection, there are other weapons that can carry the O game like Welker, Stallworth, Maroney and even Faulk.

For the defense: Bruschi, Vrabel ,Seau, etc are good enough to spoil an opposing team's running game and harass the QB, while Samuel and Hobbs can defend against the long or shotgun passes.

So will the Colts or Jags be able to defeat the Patriots? I dont know, I think these teams will have to play twice or more times better than what they are showing now in order to overcome Patriots' winning games.

Answer 4

Tom Brady vs. Phillip Rivers? Are you high? The Chargers would not do as well against the Patriots as they did in September. If the Chargers even get there, which is actually unlikely

Answer 5

Any team is capable. But this year, so far, no team has done it. What it will take is a first half that transpires like last night, and a second half that has the opposing team totally changing strategies so that the defense can't get the upper hand. Then just stay cool, score 28 points or so, and hang on for dear life. The Pats are baaad.

Answer 6

Well, you have to stop Brady and Randy Moss..is to have them sitting on the sideline.. so Any team with good run offense can use a good clock control management and stay on the field as long as possible and eat up the clock.. So I think a team like Chargers and Jags can use this strategy to Beat the Pats..

Answer 7

The Chargers would have to play really really aggressive defense and put the ball in LT's hands. Fawk Philip Rivers.

Answer 8

Any team is capable. We can tell by the fact how close some games were with teams that didnt even make the play offs like the ravens. Anything goes in the playoffs you can throw the stats out the window because theyre nothing but numbers and its time to just make it happen.

Answer 9

Here's my ranking from most likely to least with the odds in parentheses.

1. Indianapolis Colts (3:2)

People tend to forget the Colts outplayed the Patriots for 50 minutes and at times even managed to slow down Tom Brady. Then the wheels came off the wagon as the Colts allowed the Patriots to score two quick touchdowns and Peyton Manning lost a critical fumble. In addition to all their offensive weapons, the Colts allowed the least points in NFL and boasted the NFL's #1 pass defense, allowing only 167 yards a game. Yes, the loss of Dwight Freeney hurts, but the Colts still played some pretty darn good defense after he got hurt too. The Colts have a substantial advantage over the Patriots in the ground game with Joseph Addai, which may be a critical factor in the likely event of bad weather in Foxborough. The key will how be how well Peyton Manning well handles Belichick's complex defenses and the bad weather, things he has not handled very well in past. In their Week 9 matchup, the Colts' defense did their part holding the Patriots to a season-low 24 points and although Addai had a huge game, the Colts managed only 20 points and the argument could be made that Manning didn't pull his weight. It's not very often that you talk about Manning as a potential liability, but if he can play anywhere close to as well as Brady, I think the Colts have a very, very good chance to do the impossible and beat the undefeated Patriots.

2. San Diego Chargers (5:1)

Yes, the Patriots did crush the Chargers 38-14 in Week 2. However the Chargers were simply not a good football team the first quarter of the season, so I'm not going to read to much into that game. Heck, they lost by 14 points to 4-12 Kansas City early on. Since Week 5 they've averaged 28.5 points scored and 15 points allowed per game compared to NE's 36.8 points scored and 17.1 points allowed and Indy's 29 points scored and 16.4 points allowed season average. That would suggest that the Chargers at least belong in the discussion. On offense they have the best RB with Tomlinson and the best TE with Gates in the NFL and that makes it difficult for anyone to defend. Defensively they are very good also and led the league in turnovers forced. They intercepted 30 passes (8 more than any team in the NFL) which could come in very handy against a team that passes as much as the Patriots. Phillip Rivers is inconsistent and it would require him to have his best game of the season though. Also even though San Diego had a strong finish to the season, I still feel that Norv Turner is a very poor record. There are some question marks, but the main ingredient you need to upset the Patriots is talent and the Chargers have an awfully lot of it. All in all I think the Chargers are the team with the second best chance to beat the Patriots.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars (10:1)

The Jaguars have a very good team and will likely go into Pittsburgh and win, but can the ground heavy Jaguars possibly score enough points to win against an offense as good as the Patriots? David Garrard had a very solid season but benefitted from not having to pass much because of the Jaguars' running game. If Jacksonville falls behind early and is forced to pass more than usual can Garrard handle the increased load? I doubt it, especially without a single above receiving threat. The Jaguars only chance is for horrible weather that bogs down New England's passing attack.

4. Dallas Cowboys (10:1)

The Cowboys scored the second most points in the NFL behind the Patriots and managed to score a very respectable 27 points in their Week 6 matchup. That's the good news. The bad news is their defense allowed the Patriots to score 48 points that week and for the season allowed the second most points of any team going to the playoffs. Also Tony Romo had a phenomenal season but his play the last three weeks of the season has been shaky. I have to wonder about his confidence going into the playoffs given that and his botched hold last year against Seattle in the playoffs. Also will Terrell Owens be fully healthy from his ankle injury after the bye week? The Cowboys are still the favorite in the NFC, but beating New England is a long shot.

5. Green Bay Packers (20:1)

The Packers were the only one of the 13-win teams that New England. Brett Favre is a great story and has proven that he can carry his team to big wins, but beating New England would really be stretching it. He did managed to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, but it will be a little harder to beat Tom Brady than Drew Bledsoe. After the Steelers, the Packers are the team that I'd most like to see win it all, but realistically.....well let's just it's more likely than it will be 80 degrees in Green Bay this winter.

6. New York Giants (30:1)

This ranking for the Giants is a good deal higher than I thought it would be say two days ago. I was impressed with how well the Giants played against the Patriots Saturday, particularly in a game that meant nothing to them. That was the best game I've seen Eli Manning play in a while. Still the Giants allowed the most points of any team going to the playoffs, making it extremely unlikely that a rematch would even be as close as Saturday's game.

7. Seattle Seahawks (30:1)

Seattle is turning into an annual division winner in the otherwise pathetic NFC West. However they beat only one team with a winning record this year which leads me to question how well they will do in the playoffs. Matt Hasselbeck had a very good season, but Shaun Alexander looks like he's completely over-the-hill. I don't think this Seahawks team is as good as the ones who made it to the Super Bowl two years ago, let alone good enough to challenge the Patriots.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (50:1)

Before their Week 14, Anthony Smith infamously guaranteed a win vs. Patriots. What an idiot. Smith was frequently picked on as the Patriots crushed the Steelers 34-13. The Steelers have struggled badly the second half of the season, losing to the Jets and Ravens, almost losing Miami, and the once-mighty defense got mauled in losses to New England and Jacksonville. The season ending injuries to Aaron Smith and Willie Parker don't exactly help matters much either. Thank goodness we played St. Louis at the right time or we probably wouldn't be going to the playoffs. So what's more likely: Anthony Smith guaranteeing another win or the Steelers making a credible run at beating the Patriots? I'll leave that one up to you.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (50:1)

Like Seattle, the Bucs benefitted from an awful division. The Bucs defense is solid allowing the fewest points in the NFC, but they lack the offense necessary to play with New England. Jeff Garcia is an above average quarterback and doesn't make mistakes, but he doesn't have enough playmakers around him.

10. Tennessee Titans (100:1)

I think Jeff Fisher is a heck of a coach. Every year you think the Titans are going to be awful, yet he always manages to have his team in contention. Their defense is also very good and underrated. However the Titans only scored 18 points a game, by far the least of any team going to the playoff. The Patriots scored at least 20 points every game this season. You do the math.

11. Washington Redskins (100:1)

The Redskins are a feel-good story rebounding to make the playoffs after the tragic murder of Sean Taylor. Sooner or later we're going to have to see a reason why Todd Collins went over 10 years between starts. Oh and by the way when the teams met in the regular season, the Patriots pulled out a cliffhanger 52-7.

Answer 10

jacksonville has the best chance because of their running game.3-4 defenses(which NE has)can be ran against up the middle because of one less down lineman.thats the only way to beat them,because running games eat up the clock,less time for brady to be on the field.and even that might not be enough,at least not this year.
GO COWBOYS!!!