Bilder » Carl Edwards latest championship loss might have been

You can bet your last dollar on the New England Patriots reaching the Super Bowl or you can take the rest of the AFC field. Which option would you choose?ESPNs Football Power Index put the Patriots Super Bowl chances at 55 percent heading into Sunday. That improved to 58 percent following the Patriots 16-3 victory at Denver. Rufus Peabody, the professional bettor and ESPN predictive analytics expert from Massey-Peabody Analytics, had it 51-49 in the Patriots favor.What say people in the league? I polled two NFL pro personnel directors, one head coach, one defensive assistant coach and an analytics specialist to find out.To me, you always want to bet the field, one of the insiders said, but if the Patriots have home-field advantage, do I see them losing?These insiders couldnt agree on which AFC team posed the greatest threat to New England. Heres how they each answered the question at hand:Head coachs viewThe head coach said he thought the Patriots held significant coaching advantages over every team in the AFC. He pointed to New Englands willingness and ability to change its approach from game to game and season to season. And he thought Tom Brady was better than any quarterback the Patriots would face on their way to the Super Bowl.So, what should the Patriots fear this postseason?Tom Brady breaking his leg falling out of the shower, this coach said. Thats it. The teams that are good matchups for New England, like Seattle, are in the other conference. New England, their defense is playing better than what people realize. Their special teams hurt them against Baltimore [in Week 14], and then their offense is always going to be fine, because Tom is there. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys Cheap . 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Custom New England Patriots Jerseys Cheap .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Custom Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys Cheap . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards latest championship loss might have been even more painful than his first.Leading the NASCAR season finale with 10 laps to go and closing in on his first title, Edwards wrecked while blocking fellow contender Joey Logano on a restart Sunday night.Logano turned Edwards sideways and sent him sliding across traffic at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kasey Kahne slammed into Edwards rear bumper, lifting the No. 19 Toyota off the ground. Edwards spun, hit the outside wall and came to a stop on the track. Edwards climbed out, stood on the banking -- not too far from his wrecked race car -- and watched a replay on a big screen.Edwards shook his head and muttered damn as he realized he essentially caused the melee.I couldnt go to bed tonight and think that I gave him that lane, Edwards said.The move cost Edwards and Logano.I dont blame him, Logano said. He had to throw the block. Its the only move I had. Im not going to look back at it and second guess that move. I had to do that. Thats the only play I had. ... I understand why he had to throw the block and he understands why I had to make the move because that was for the win.That was the only shot that I had. That was for the race win. Its 10 to go. What do you expect? Its for a championship.Jimmie Johnson ended up winning the race, tying a NASCAR record by claiming his seventh championship. Logano finished fourth, two spots ahead of Kyle Busch. Edwards was 34th. Johnson, Logano, Busch and Edwards were the only title contenders in the finale.We had a few moments there throughout the day that we thought we were kind of on the outside looking in and didnt really see a very good shot of winning it, said Busch, who battled back from a lap down to have a shot down the stretch. And then all of a sudden it seemed like we had a really good shot to win the thing. We were up front and kind of driving away from those guys behind us ... and then we were out of it again.Edwards handled the loss with so much class that several colleagues celebrated him for it.Edwards brushed off a request to take an ambulance ride to the infield care center, instead making the trip on foot. He stopped by Loganos pit stall, climbed up on the box, chatted with crew chief TTodd Gordon and shook hands with everyone up there.ddddddddddddYeah, no apology, Edwards said. I just wanted to say, `Hey, thats just racing and good luck to you guys. Theres so much on the line. I dont want to be anything extra to mess with Joey.Edwards got checked out in the care center and then gave a pep talk to family and friends, high-fiving each of them. It was a show of sportsmanship rarely seen in defeat in NASCAR, especially with so much on the line. He was even more supportive of his team, including crew chief Dave Rogers.They put it in my hands, Edwards said. Thats all you can ask for. ... It didnt work out. This is life. We performed well. We did our best. I just risked too much and Dave told me before this race its a pretty big reward and remember risk gets reward and I just had to push it.Edwards led 47 laps before finishing 34th in the race and fourth in the final standings.But his season will be remembered for another oh-so-close ending.Five years ago, Edwards and Tony Stewart had a head-to-head showdown at Homestead for the title. Edwards, then driving for Jack Roush, started the finale with a three-point lead in the standings and did everything he could from the minute he arrived in Florida. His Roush Fenway Racing team put his Ford on the pole, he led a race-high 119 of the 267 laps and still finished second to Stewart.Stewart and Edwards finished tied in the final Sprint Cup Series points standings -- a first in NASCAR history -- and Stewart took the tiebreaker based on his five victories to Edwards one.Edwards started watching a replay of that 2011 race earlier this week, but ended up turning it off in disgust.He surely wont want to watch this one, which left him still without a championship in 12 full seasons at the Cup level. And as much as the restart ended Edwards night, a late caution caused by little-known driver Dylan Lupton caused as much frustration.I just hated to see that caution, Edwards said. That was very, very frustrating. I felt like that was our race and our championship, but hey this is how racing goes.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org ' ' '