September 22, 2020 | 4:31 PM
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, and email. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.
Both teams are 1-1. Brady looks pretty good. Cam looks better than anyone expected. But which of their teams will be better this year? Who wins more games? – Norm L.
Are we recalibrating this now? Maybe we should. I think many fans around here, and certainly most nationwide, figured the Bucs would be the better team and win more games than the Patriots this year, even if they’re in a tougher division. They added Tom Brady. The Patriots lost him. Pretty simple.
Now, after Cam Newton’s impressive performance in Sunday night’s 35-30 loss to the Seahawks, there is plenty of reason to believe the Patriots, presuming Newton and Julian Edelman remain healthy, will be a team to reckon with in the AFC, even if they’re not in the class of the favorites at this point.
The Bucs? They’re good, though losing the opener to a flawed Saints team was almost as surprising as coach Bruce Arians bluntly calling out Brady after the loss. Brady at 43 looks about the same as he did at 42, which puts him somewhere on the fringe of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league. I’d say Newton is in the same range, but with a much higher ceiling.
But to actually get around to answering the question, I actually think the Patriots and Bucs will end up with the same record – 11-5. But if I have to pick one with the best shot at a better record, I’d say the Bucs. Tampa Bay’s division is deeper, but the Patriots schedule is tougher. It’s really too bad they’re not playing each other this year.
What does everyone else think? Which team will win more games this year, the Bucs or Patriots? I’ll hear you in the comments.
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