polamalubeast
10-03-2017, 12:24 PM
The New England Patriots have won the AFC East 14 times in the last 16 seasons. They have posted at least 12 wins in 12 of those 14 seasons and had 10 wins in each of the other two. One of the two seasons that they didn’t win the division was in 2008, when Tom Brady missed the whole season.
Bill Belichick and Brady together have obviously been the biggest factor in why they have had so much success. The two are the best in the NFL at their respective positions and their presence makes the Patriots a Super Bowl contender every season.
That is the most important factor in their success, but another key factor is they have been able to feast on a diet of wins over what is almost annually the worst division in football. The AFC East has been the Patriots’ safe haven for all these years and is probably the reason they aren’t in danger of missing the playoffs again this season.
The Patriots are 77-22 against AFC East teams since the start of the 2001 season. That is the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over that span. The Patriots have earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC six times since 2001.
This is a formula that the Steelers can finally follow to try and capture the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The AFC North has traditionally been an extremely tough division. Either the Bengals or the Ravens, and in a number of years, both, have been playoff contenders so the Steelers haven’t had an easy ride through their division. The Steelers have only won the AFC North eight times since 2001. The Steelers have only earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC twice since 2001 and haven’t since 2004.
read more
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/zeise-is-right/2017/10/03/Steelers-playoff-projections-afc-north-division-standings/stories/201710030107
Bill Belichick and Brady together have obviously been the biggest factor in why they have had so much success. The two are the best in the NFL at their respective positions and their presence makes the Patriots a Super Bowl contender every season.
That is the most important factor in their success, but another key factor is they have been able to feast on a diet of wins over what is almost annually the worst division in football. The AFC East has been the Patriots’ safe haven for all these years and is probably the reason they aren’t in danger of missing the playoffs again this season.
The Patriots are 77-22 against AFC East teams since the start of the 2001 season. That is the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over that span. The Patriots have earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC six times since 2001.
This is a formula that the Steelers can finally follow to try and capture the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The AFC North has traditionally been an extremely tough division. Either the Bengals or the Ravens, and in a number of years, both, have been playoff contenders so the Steelers haven’t had an easy ride through their division. The Steelers have only won the AFC North eight times since 2001. The Steelers have only earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC twice since 2001 and haven’t since 2004.
read more
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/zeise-is-right/2017/10/03/Steelers-playoff-projections-afc-north-division-standings/stories/201710030107