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The New England Patriots are the third-best team entering the 2012 NFL Playoffs says SI.com's Don Banks, who Wednesday published a Wild-Card round Power Rankings feature. The Patriots (13-3) finished the year with the best record in the AFC and earned the No. 1-overall seed, which comes with a first-round bye, but despite all the accolades Banks believes that the NFC's Green Bay Bay (ranked No. 1) and New Orleans Saints (No. 2) are better than the Pats.
It's almost time to throw out the book when it comes to the Patriots," says Banks, "because logic says we should not be taking a team seriously that gave up the second-most passing yards in NFL history (trailing only this year's Packers). But they're the AFC's top seed, and they can routinely overcome deficits of 17 to 21 points in the time it takes to spell Rob Gronkowski's last name."
Meanwhile, SB Nation's Joel Thorman ranked the Patriots No. 4, behind the Packers, Saints and Ravens, respectively, his Wild-Card round NFL Power Rankings.
To see what else Banks had to say about the Pats and the rest of hist rankings on the 2012 NFL Playoffs, click here.
For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit. For all your NFL Playoff material, check out the SB Nation NFL homepage.