Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are back on top of the AFC! Football fans had spent years waiting for Tom Brady to age out of top form and for the Pats’ dynasty to fall apart, but they kept winning Super Bowls: after the 2014 season, and the 2016 season, and the 2018 season. They dominated the league long after everyone reluctantly acknowledged that all of their key figures were legendary. But when Brady left the Patriots for the Buccaneers in March 2020, fans breathed a long-awaited sigh of relief. For a year or so, New England seemed to be flailing. In 2020, the New England Patriots signed Cam Newton and finished under .500 for the first time since 2000. They clearly needed a long-term Brady replacement at quarterback, but their draft pick wasn’t high enough to take any of the first four QBs off the board in 2021. But now the Pats are back! New England is 9-4, riding a seven-game winning streak. On Monday, the Patriots played their main AFC East competition, the Bills, and bullied them. Incredible winds rendered passing and kicking nearly impossible in that game. You’d think Buffalo would be best prepared for Buffalo weather, but the Pats were the ones who showed up ready to play. They only asked Mac Jones to throw three passes while the offense ran the ball 46 times for 222 yards. Head coach Bill Belichick was downright gleeful at the result, smiling on the sideline for the first time in years. The Sunday Punch Podcast debates whether this Patriots team can win the Super Bowl! The Patriots are in sole possession of first place in the AFC, as they’re a half-game up on the Titans, Ravens, and Chiefs. That might not sound like much, but New England boasts the seventh-easiest remaining strength of schedule, while Baltimore and Kansas City have schedules that rank among the 10 most difficult in the league. How important is the no. 1 seed? Nothing explains this better than the Patriots’ dynastic run. In the eight years the Brady-led Pats had the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, they made six Super Bowl appearances and won it all three times. It’s possible they performed so well because they were clearly the best team in these years, but the structural advantages provided by the NFL playoff format helped. The no. 1 seed is even more important now under the 14-team playoff format that the league adopted in 2020. Now, only the top team in each conference gets a first-round bye. Everyone else must play in the wild-card round. In the four years that the Brady-led Pats had to play in the wild-card round, New England never made the Super Bowl. The Sunday Punch Podcast: Hosted by two friends, Sunday Punch is a Chicago podcast that talks about sports, pop culture, and politics. Looking for guests! DM us @sundaypunchpodcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundaypunchpodcast/ Buy Adam a Beer! https://linktr.ee/sundaypunch