Foxborough, Mass. • On the field, the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are right where they want to be heading into the postseason.
As the AFC's top seed and the owners of a first-round bye, the 13-3 Patriots will get to rest up during the opening weekend of the playoffs. But as they prepare to begin their latest run, their biggest opponent might be the perception of a fracturing relationship between arguably the franchise's three most important pieces.
The Patriots dismissed as "flat-out inaccurate" a report suggesting a rift involving owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady on Friday.