The Patriots made history in Super Bowl LI.
They engineered the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, rallying from 28-3 down. Tom Brady also surpassed Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw’s ring total of four.
But their troublesome beginning to the 2017 season has allowed another team to attain the role as Super Bowl Frontrunner.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently the favorite to win the Super Bowl. They have the quarterback, running game, playmaking wide receivers, and an improving defense that gives people confidence.
From CBS Sports:
The New England Patriots are no longer the favorites to win Super Bowl LII, according to the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. The Patriots came into Week 1 as 13/4 favorites, miles ahead of the second-place Seahawks (8/1), but a slow 2-2 start and looming questions about their defense has caused the Patriots to fall out of favor with bettors. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the new Super Bowl darlings, sitting at 9/2 odds, while the Patriots are still at a more than respectable 5/1.
The 2017 season has been rife with parity thus far. The Kansas City Chiefs are the only remaining undefeated team in the league…The Steelers aren’t without their own ugly loss, as they fell to the Bears in an overtime thriller in Week 3, but Pittsburgh got back on track on Sunday by rolling over the Baltimore Ravens, 26-9.
The Patriots are at a point where people are concerned but not panicking. Starting slow isn’t something that is necessarily new, but having the worst-ranked defense in the NFL isn’t something that can be immediately remedied.
After the Carolina Panthers were stymied by the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, they came back against the Patriots and put up 444 yards and 33 points to move to 3-1. The Patriots are currently tied for second in the AFC East with the Jets as they chase the 3-1 Buffalo Bills — just as we all predicted.
The Steelers, meanwhile, are 2-0 in the AFC North. With Le’Veon Bell racking up 144 yards Sunday, a return to form likely has [people] feeling particularly good about Pittsburgh’s vaunted offense achieving its potential.
If the New England defense doesn’t pull itself together soon, it may find itself in a situation where Tom Brady is the only thing keeping the Patriots afloat. A team can only rely on a quarterback for so long, so Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia need to figure out their defense soon.
As for Pittsburgh, if the offense keeps rolling the way it has then it may be one of the toughest units to stop in football.
Le’Veon Bell is arguably the best running back in football, and when Ben Roethlisberger is on, few quarterbacks are more dangerous.
Pittsburgh’s Achilles’ heel over the past few years has been an underperforming defense, which is surprise considering the franchise’s legacy.
Pittsburgh and the “Steel Curtain” have become synonymous with stingy defense, so the past few seasons have been disappointing for Steelers’ fans.
But Pittsburgh, so far, seems to have corrected their issues. They just trounced their biggest divisional threat on the road, and the Browns and Bengals look like total non-factors in the AFC North.
The Steelers have a strong path to the top seed in the conference and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.