Where will the Patriots finish in the AFC?

For this week's GMC Playbook question, Marshall Faulk asks the SB Nation blogs: heading down the stretch, is your team a spoiler, hunter, or contender?

Spoiler, hunter or contender? My #GMCPlaybook question for @SBNation: what role will your team play? http://t.co/jBTDuZIm7O

— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) November 4, 2014

The Patriots are 7-2 and are currently perched atop the AFC, owning the tiebreaker with the Denver Broncos. Answering Faulk's question is easy: the Patriots are a contender.

Therefore, I am going to twist the question a bit. How do you see the Patriots finishing in a crowded AFC? Last year, we saw the impact that not having the top seed had when New England traveled to Denver and lost in the AFC Championship.

The Patriots could theoretically win out and claim the 1st seed, but they have an insanely difficult schedule coming up with the next five games being the Colts, Lions, Packers, Chargers, and Dolphins.

That being said, where do you see the Patriots finishing? What do they need to do in order to secure the top seed? What are your predictions? Although I do see the Patriots dropping at least one more regular season game, the Broncos do have some tough opponents ahead as well.

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