Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl? Something that would’ve seemed insane to imagine at the start of this year is suddenly not so crazy anymore.
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That’s right, the Patriots-Buccaneers matchup is now the most likely Super Bowl matchup according to ESPN’s power index. Not too long ago, it seemed like it was always going to be Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl, representing the New England Patriots together.
However, things have changed dramatically. Brady left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, and he won a Super Bowl with his new team in his very first season with them. Now, the conversations surrounding Brady and Belichick are all about who was more responsible for the Patriots dynasty, and it seems like with every passing game, opinions on the matter seem to change.
A lot of those recent opinions revolve around the fact that the Patriots are currently first in the AFC just a year after losing Tom Brady.
NFL fans react to fact that Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick is the most likely Super Bowl
When you think about it, it is pretty remarkable that the Patriots are in the driver’s seat in the AFC. They lost their franchise star a season ago, and they had to find a completely new identity for themselves.
It looked like they had hit the hammer on the nail perfectly when they signed Cam Newton last year who had some impressive performances before he contracted Covid-19. After that, things went severely downhill. Cam never got back to his pre-Covid form, and the Pats limped to a 7-9 record.
This year, they decided enough was enough and drafted Mac Jones out of Alabama, released Cam Newton to fill the quarterback position. New England was also a big spender during free agency, setting a record in the amount of money they spent in the offseason. The shift to Mac Jones has worked, and the free agency signings are definitely showing their value as New England sits at 9-4 atop the AFC.
The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are 9-3 and in third place in the NFC. They look as strong as ever as they look to defend their Super Bowl title with Brady playing at an MVP level. He leads the league in passing yards (3,771) and passing touchdowns (34), leading a Buccaneers offense that ranks first in the league in points per game (31.4).
After news broke that the Pats-Bucs matchup was the most likely Super Bowl, NFL fans shed their opinions on the matter with people being split between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
The Pats and Bucs already faced off this year in perhaps the most anticipated NFL regular season game of all time. The Bucs took the win in that game, edging New England 19-17. However, a Super Bowl matchup would be completely different. The stakes are far greater, and the storylines that would come out of that game would be insane (as we’ve already seen).
However, all of this is speculation for now. The Pats and Bucs both have to make the Super Bowl first, and there’s a long way to go before that happens. There’s still five games left in the regular season, and then the entire playoffs. Anything could change.
