On Monday Night Football, Mac Jones and the New England Patriots took on the Arizona Cardinals. Peyton and Eli Manning hosted their Manningcast broadcast for the game and one of their guests was Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow.
During the game, Peyton invited comparisons by bringing up Burrow's iconic cigar photo from after his National Championship victory in 2019. In 2020, Jones won the National Championship as well and had a photo taken of him with a cigar.
The Manning brothers trolled Jones with a side-by-side comparison, saying that Burrow was wise to keep his jersey on for the shot.
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The trio laughed, and Eli brutally trolled the quarterback:
"I’m sure Mac is really excited about us showing pictures with his shirt off."
The second-year signal caller led a comeback victory over the Cardinals, scoring 20 unanswered points in the second half.
Can Mac Jones and the Patriots make the playoffs?
If the season ended today, New England would be in the playoffs:
- Buffalo Bills
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tennessee Titans
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- New England Patriots
However, they are barely in. They sit at 7-6 and are third in the AFC East, but there are teams breathing down their necks.
The Los Angeles Chargers have the same record, as do the New York Jets. Any one of those teams could make it in as the final Wild Card.
Right now, the Patriots control their destiny and if they continue winning, they should have no problems getting in. However, every loss is extremely detrimental, especially if it is paired with a Jets or Chargers win.
Fortunately, they swept the Jets in the season series. There's no scenario where the Patriots and Jets have the same record and New England aren't ahead of them.
However, without a head-to-head matchup with Los Angeles, it gets a bit more precarious. Tie-breaking scenarios come into play and neither team wants that to be a factor.
Each of the remaining four games for New England is extremely important, but they have a very good shot at sneaking into the playoffs this year.
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