I’ll be honest: I thought the New England Patriots were a year away.
With Mike Vrabel taking over as coach and Drake Maye entering his second season, coupled with a lot of money being spent in free agency to bolster the roster, I thought the Patriots would be a feisty team that could win eight or nine games this season.
Now look. The Patriots lead the AFC East by 1½ games over the Buffalo Bills and have ripped off seven straight victories, including an impressive road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The Patriots are getting MVP-like play from Maye, coupled with a defense that is stout against the run and sticky in coverage on the back end.
The Jerod Mayo mini era sure seems like a long time ago. Credit goes to owner Robert Kraft for making the decision to fire Mayo with a chance to hire Vrabel. He brings a discipline and a toughness to the team that shows up on Sundays.
When you add in a franchise quarterback like Maye, a player who seems to have an aw-shucks personality to go with his killer style on the field, the results are not an accident.
The Tampa Bay game was a prove-it game of sorts for the Patriots, and they passed with flying colors. Maye was good again, aside from a horrible end-zone interception, and the defense made life tough on the Bucs offense. It helps they have outstanding cover players in Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis at cornerback.
The Patriots’ revamped defense had six players who signed as free agents last spring who started against the Bucs. Vrabel has done a great job bringing that group together.
New England is up to third in my Power Rankings this week, right behind the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams. Expect the Patriots to be near the top for at least a month.
Their next three games are home against the Jets, on the road at Cincinnati and home against the Giants before a bye. A 10-game winning streak is a real possibility. After the bye, they have the rematch with the Bills, who they beat earlier in the year.
Forget about the division title. With their schedule, they have a real shot to be the top seed in the AFC. That would mean the playoffs would go through Foxborough.
Who in the name of Bill Belichick saw that coming?
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
Sam Darnold didn’t even have to do much against Arizona because the defense was so dominant. That front is nasty and will need to show up big against the Rams this week. | 2 | 7-2-0 |
2 |
|
Matthew Stafford is lighting up defenses as the Rams ready to face the Seahawks on Sunday. Their defensive front also has game-wrecking ability. | 2 | 7-2-0 |
3 |
|
Drake Maye for MVP. It’s possible. The schedule gets really soft the next three weeks to help bolster his chances. | 2 | 8-2-0 |
4 |
|
The defense came up big against the Packers, but the offense has to get it going. But winning on the road against good teams is tough to do. | 2 | 7-2-0 |
5 |
|
Give the ball to Jonathan Taylor. They got back to what they should always be doing, and it paid off big against the Falcons. | 2 | 8-2-0 |
6 |
|
Despite the loss to the Patriots, they have a hammer-lock on the division. But the idea of getting the No. 1 seed is probably fading away. | 5 | 6-3-0 |
7 |
|
Dan Campbell took over as the play-caller and the offense came to life. Of course, they did it against air, otherwise known as the Commanders defense. But it was impressive. | 4 | 6-3-0 |
8 |
|
The letdown after beating the Chiefs turned into a disaster in Miami. If you can’t stop the run, and they can’t, you can’t win a Super Bowl. That has to be fixed. | 6 | 6-3-0 |
9 |
|
Where is the offense? Bo Nix just isn’t playing well right now. It’s up to Sean Payton to fix him. | 1 | 8-2-0 |
10 |
|
They come off their bye with a big division road game at Denver. They can’t afford to lose another one, or else their playoff chances could be in real jeopardy. | — | 5-4-0 |
11 |
|
Where is the offense? The past two weeks, it just hasn’t been good enough. The injuries to the weapons are really impacting the passing game. | 2 | 5-3-1 |
12 |
|
The defense showed up in a big way against the Steelers. With the offensive line an issue now with injuries, they might need a lot more of that down the stretch. | — | 7-3-0 |
13 |
|
Coming back to beat the Giants was a good look for Caleb Williams. They are in the thick of the playoff race. | 3 | 6-3-0 |
14 |
|
They have righted things in a hurry and have a soft schedule coming up. The division could be theirs after a slow start. | 4 | 4-5-0 |
15 |
|
The J.J. McCarthy situation is becoming worrisome for this team. Do you think they wish they had Sam Darnold back? | 2 | 4-5-0 |
16 |
|
The injuries to the defense proved to be too much to overcome in the loss to the Rams. Matthew Stafford carved them to shreds. | 1 | 6-4-0 |
17 |
|
For a bit, the offense was good and the defense was awful. Now the defense is better and the offense did nothing against the Chargers. The Ravens are coming fast too. | — | 5-4-0 |
18 |
|
Davis Mills saved their season against the Jaguars. Who saw that coming? They are still alive for a playoff spot. | 2 | 4-5-0 |
19 |
|
Blowing a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to Davis Mills has to sting for this group. The defense cost them this one, but the offense doesn’t do enough. | 5 | 5-4-0 |
20 |
|
Just when we think they are ready to compete for a playoff spot, they lay an egg like they did against the Saints. Bryce Young needs to pick it up. | 1 | 5-5-0 |
21 |
|
They are sinking fast. The run defense was terrible against the Colts, which can’t happen against a back like Jonathan Taylor. | — | 3-6-0 |
22 |
|
The Jacoby Brissett hype train derailed in Seattle, but with Kyler Murray hurt, it’s still his team. The line didn’t help him much either. | — | 3-6-0 |
23 |
|
Even if Jayden Daniels had played against the Lions, it wouldn’t have mattered. The defense is awful. They are done. | — | 3-7-0 |
24 |
|
The offense is a mess. Geno Smith has no time, but he hasn’t been good when he’s had some. So much for Chip Kelly livening up the offense. | — | 2-7-0 |
25 |
|
They better hope getting Quinnen Williams changes the way they play defense. It has to, right? It can’t get any worse. | — | 3-5-1 |
26 |
|
Blowing the lead against the Bears, with Jaxson Dart out with a concussion, cost Brian Daboll his job. Mike Kafka has to be smarter with Dart. | — | 2-8-0 |
27 |
|
Any chance they found a defense during the bye? Probably not. Get ready for more shootouts. | — | 3-6-0 |
28 |
|
Give Mike McDaniel credit for having his team ready to upset the Bills. They haven’t quit. | 1 | 3-7-0 |
29 |
|
Winning at Carolina is nice, but the big thing was that Tyler Shough seems to be making progress. Could he be their long-term guy? | 1 | 2-8-0 |
30 |
|
They have won two straight to help turn this thing around. So much for the idea that trading away stars would wreck them even worse. They are set for the future with all the draft picks. | 1 | 2-7-0 |
31 |
|
They find new and creative ways to lose every week. They lost to a Jets team whose wide receivers combined for 7 yards. Special teams killed them. | 3 | 2-7-0 |
32 |
|
They had a bye this past week. That’s a win. Plus, the first overall pick now seems like it will be theirs. | — | 1-8-0 |
