The New England Patriots have been a postseason mainstay during the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era, advancing to the playoffs in 13 of 15 years. They had to settle for the No. 2 seed in the AFC this season after losing four of their final six games, but remain the favorites to represent the conference in Santa Clara.
Here are three reasons why the Patriots will hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the second consecutive year:
Back to full strength
The Patriots were hit hard by injuries during the regular season, most notably to running back Dion Lewis, who emerged seemingly out of nowhere to carve out an important role for himself. The first-round bye gave the Pats plenty of time to rest up, though, and they should have several injured bodies back for their playoff run.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman, offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer, and linebacker Dont'a Hightower have all reportedly been cleared for the AFC divisional round. Others, like wide receiver Danny Amendola, defensive end Rob Ninkovich, and safeties Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty, should also be healthier than they were toward the end of the regular season.
Elite defense
For the Patriots to make it to the Super Bowl, their offense is going to have to put up a lot more points than the 10 they totaled in their loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. That said, their defense has more than enough talent to not only get them to the Super Bowl, but win it.
The secondary was a big concern for the Patriots entering the season after the departures of cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, but Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan have done a commendable job in their absence. The pair has combined for 141 tackles, 29 passes defensed, and six interceptions.
Linebacker Jamie Collins is one of the best in the league at his position and an integral part of New England's defense, while defensive end Chandler Jones was among the league's sack leaders.
The Brady-Belichick factor
No quarterback/head coach duo has been more consistently successful in the NFL over the past 15 years than Brady and Belichick. Winning is what they do, and as long as they're still around, the Patriots will remain a championship-caliber team.
Brady is at his best in the postseason, as evidenced by the 21 victories he's accumulated - an NFL record among quarterbacks who have made at least 10 starts. He's the all-time leader in playoff touchdown passes (53), passing yards (7,345), and completions (683), and is one of only three quarterbacks with four Super Bowl wins.
No head coach in NFL history has more playoff wins than Belichick (22), and he's also the only head coach to win three Super Bowl championships in a four-year span.
