Historically, defending Super Bowl champs boast a distinctive edge in Super Bowl rematches in the season to following. For instance, last year the Denver Broncos won and covered their rematch against the Carolina Panthers, leaving a 5-2 defending champ record in the wake. That’s 5-2 both straight up and against the spread (ATS) in immediate Super Bowl rematches.
So here we are, with the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots hosting the defending NFC champion Falcons in Week 7 to cap off Sunday night. Will the trend continue?
The Atlanta Falcons have had a very up and down season, and they will try to not extend their losing streak when they take on the New England Patriots. The Falcons won the first three games of the season, including an impressive win in week two over the Green Bay Packers.
The offense got rolling early and the defense was really solid and that led to a 34-23 victory. But since week three the Falcons have really struggled. In the last two weeks they have played the Bills and the Dolphins and the offense has kind of sputtered and that has led to two straight defeats.
In the last game against the Dolphins they got out to a 17-0 lead and everyone seemed to be rolling around just fine. But then the offense couldn’t do anything the rest of the game and the defense started to struggle and the Dolphins ended up winning 20-17.
For a team that was a 14 point favorite that is a very concerning look for the team. To win this game it’s all going to come down to the offensive end of the field. At times the Falcons offense really struggles and that has cost them. Matt Ryan needs to keep the offense rolling all night if they want a chance to pull the big upset in this game.
On the other side of this match up is the New England Patriots, who haven’t really looked good in any of their games so far this year, but they still come into this game with a 4-2 record and are alone in first place in the AFC East. In their last game they played the Jets, and they fell behind early. They played a better second half though, and they got a few calls go their way and it led to a victory.
The Patriots are led by Tom Brady who is having another really nice season. He comes into this game having thrown for 1959 yards and 13 touchdowns. The offense hasn’t been the issue this year though, the issue has been on the defensive side of the ball.
The defense hasn’t really been playing well as a group and that has led to some struggles. This game is going to be a good test going against a very good offense like the Atlanta Falcons. They need to find a way to make Matt Ryan uncomfortable and to rush his throws and hopefully create some turnovers.
Writer’s Prediction:
The are called the defending Super Bowl Champions for a reason. Understand the matchup, as New England is improving while Atlanta is still hitting bumps in the road. Pick: Patriots (-3.5)
