Oh, be very afraid, AFC Conference. People who bet on NFL and who have stuck with the New England Patriots, on the other hand, should be very proud of their allegiance. The Pats shut out Brock Osweiler and the Houston Texans 27-0 last night at Gillette Stadium. At this point we would add, “and they did it without Tom Brady.” Let’s redact that; they did it without Tom Brady’s backup Jimmy Garoppolo. They did it with the backup’s backup. Life sure does imitate art, because this is pretty much the plot of Any Given Sunday.
Before Brady was suspended and Garoppolo injured, Patriots’ third-string QB Jacoby Brissett probably only dreamed of him and Krusty winning the Super Bowl. And while this was only week 3 of the regular season, Brissett nevertheless had his moment of glory, throwing 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards, and rushing 48 yards on eight carries with a 27-yard TD, the longest for a Pats quarterback in 40 years. Brissett also became the first rookie quarterback to start for New England since Drew Bledsoe in 1993, and the first black player to start under center in the history of the franchise.
The Patriots thus improved their record to 3-0, including unlikely, unexpected, even NFL betting online-upsetting wins over the Arizona Cardinals and the Texans. Brady will only return on week 5, and barring unforeseen event, will reclaim his rightful starting spot. However, the Pats will host the Buffalo Bills on week 4; you know, the 0-2 Bills (as of this writing, they will most likely be 0-3 after meeting the Cardinals).
The Bills that average 19.0 points and 276.5 total yards (201.0 passing and 75.5 rushing) per game on offense, and allowing 25.0 points and 400.5 total yards (297.5 passing and 103.0 rushing) per game defensively. There really is no reason for fans who bet on NFL not to believe the Pats won’t go 4-0, even if they have to start wide receiver Julian Edelman under center.
Moreover, The Great Deflater will make his glorious return against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns, who are the Bizarro to the Patriots’ Superman. The Browns, who had the audacity to make Robert Griffin III their starting QB – a move which was either sheer brilliance or sheer lunacy, probably the latter. RG3 is like Will Ferrell in The Producers; five minutes before his stage debut he’s told to “break a leg.” He rushes off-screen, and two seconds later a crashing noise is heard as he yells, “I broke my leg!” The Browns, who are, well, the Browns.
Brady’s first true tests will come in weeks 6 and 7, when the Pats visit the Bengals and the Steelers, followed by a trip to Buffalo before their bye week. All things considered, a 5-0 start is all but guaranteed, but there is no denying that things look pretty sweet for the New England Patriots and Tom Brady even beyond that point. And for New England fans who bet on NFL as well, of course.