Quote:
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Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58
As it stands now, would you rather be the #3 seed, play the Jets, then Pittsburgh, or would you rather be the #4 seed, which presents a tougher WC matchup against Baltimore, but a better matchup in the Divisional Round should you win WCW?
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The quote above was brought into this thread by another poster. What's really interesting/amusing is that Matt Cassel was the QB when the Patriots intentionally lost a game -- the only time during the Belichick era that I've ever seen them do that.
In 2005 the Pats had secured a playoff spot, and the question was whether they would be a 3 or 4 seed. 3 seed got them the Steelers, who would go on to win the SB that year. The 4 seed got them Jacksonville.
Last game of the year was against the Dolphins. IIRC Brady is a healthy scratch, though maybe he played the first quarter or whatever. The Dolphisn build up a big lead, but the Cassel-led Pats come from behind to score a last minute TD to bring the score to 28-26. Two point conversion to tie and send the game into overtime the week before the playoffs begin. Cassel rolls to his right and.....chucks it into the second row.
Pats go on to crush Jacksonville 28-3, with Brady setting a record for playoff completion percentage in that game -- something like 25 of 27, then they lose at Denver in a turnover-filled nightmare (the game where Ben Watson chased down the Broncos all-world CB, whateverhisnameisIcan'tthinkofitrightnow). Steelers go on to win the SB.