"Pats will go further" - NFL analyst makes a surprising prediction regarding Tom Brady-led Buccaneers playoff hopes
Both the Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have six wins. After the Buccaneers sent the Patriots to a 1-3 starting record, no one would have guessed that both teams would be in roughly the same spot just six weeks later.
This begs the question of which team will ultimately go further. On one hand, Brady has been there and done that.
On the other hand, Belichick knows how to make a run.
Whoever goes further this season will get an additional talking point in the debate over whether the coach or quarterback is better. Who will go further?
Speaking on ESPN's First Take, NFL analyst Ryan Clark said the Patriots will go further than Tom Brady in 2021, despite Brady winning in a head-to-head matchup earlier this season.
Will the Patriots or Buccaneers make it further?
Speaking to Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and First Take host Stephen A. Smith (who both argued for Brady here), Ryan Clark said they were both incorrect in their assertions.
"No, ya'll have it wrong. The Pats will go further than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers... just watch the games."
Clark went on to mock Smith and Irvin's opinions, reciting them like a child would mock their parents after getting scolded. Of course, on First Take, debates can get heated, but Clark's decorum elicited laughter from the other hosts.
At this point, seemingly every game in the NFL is a coin toss. Seemingly every underdog is winning and nothing is going according to logic.
In the race between the Buccaneers and the Patriots, Belichick's team is the clear underdog. Why not take the underdog?
The biggest question is which team will go further in the playoffs. The Buccaneers are leading their division and the Patriots are in the driver's seat to either win the division or land a playoff spot.
This race could come down to a one-game difference in January.
Brady has been holding lightning-quick press conferences after losses for several years now. He’s not the best loser, but perhaps that is what drives his greatness twitter.com/awfulannouncin…
None of the hosts expected the teams to make it equally as far, but this is a possible outcome worth entertaining. If both teams get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, which could be a real possibility this year, then it would essentially be a tie.
At that point, one could compare the overall records, but it would be a moot point, as both roads ended at the same place.
Mac Jones has no playoff experience and the Buccaneers are cooling off, putting both teams on a trajectory of being one-and-done in the playoffs. There is also an off chance that the Patriots and Buccaneers could face each other in the Super Bowl.
That is a longshot, but both teams have plenty of reasons as to why they could go the distance.
"[Mac Jones] is as good as Tom Brady, or probably better than Tom Brady was, when he became the QB of the Patriots."
—@Realrclark25 👀 https://t.co/EVhYGZHFDS
Belichick and Brady know how to win championships, and both can lead their teams into Super Bowl-ready performances. If this were to happen, both teams could be facing off in February in what would be a fitting conclusion to the winningest quarterback-coach duo ever.