KC Chiefs: Patriots more of threat in 2020 with Cam Newton signing

The AFC is more than likely going to be between the KC Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in 2020, but the Patriots threw their hat into the ring with the signing of Cam Newton.

It doesn’t seem like the AFC is going to be stacked with a ton of stealthy competition in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs being the favorites to repeat in the conference. They won the Super Bowl last season and that alone makes them a favorite to represent the AFC in the title game yet again.

The only other true threat is the Ravens, who went 14-2 last year and were the top seed in the AFC playoffs, but flamed out in the Divisional Round.

That being said, the Ravens are returning most of their team from last year plus they added some defensive talent. The Chiefs didn’t lose many players either, especially on offense, so these two teams being the top two contenders in the AFC isn’t shocking.

Source: The #Patriots are signing Cam Newton to a 1-year deal. A chance to compete. This has been in the works. A bare minimum deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 28, 2020

Until earlier this week, it didn’t feel like the New England Patriots would be very threatening. They lost Tom Brady to free agency and for the duration of the offseason, it really seemed as though they’d be rolling with 2019 fourth round pick Jarrett Stidham as the successor to Brady.

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That was until this week when New England brought in former number one pick Cam Newton on a one-year deal. While there might be speculation that Newton won’t start, the Patriots didn’t bring Newton in to sit on the bench. He’ll be the starter and while he isn’t the same player who won the league MVP award in 2015, he’s still good enough to be an NFL starter.

The Patriots still have that solid defense, which even without Newton, would have made them a tough opponent this year. The defense helped get them to where they were last season, before finally getting exposed by tougher opponents (and the Titans run game – Oof).

Throw in that Bill Belichick is a genius and it’d be foolish to rule out the Patriots. I’ll admit I wasn’t taking them as seriously if they were planning to go with Stidham as their starter, but Cam Newton is a good quarterback who can make plays. He’s definitely a strong running quarterback, which has led to him getting injured and that – in turn – led to his release from Carolina.

It’d be weird to see the Patriots have a running quarterback, but they obviously know that’s who Newton is and what they’re expecting him to do. He’ll make them a stronger contender in the AFC and should make things in the conference a little more interesting.

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Don’t get it twisted though, the AFC is still the KC Chiefs’ conference to lose.

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