At 8-2, and with seven wins in a row now, the Patriots have plowed through much of the NFL schedule, and at this point, they probably should be taken seriously by any NFL observer or talking head. Sure, there are issues. The schedule has been incredibly weak, and there are concerns about a number of areas on the roster–the overall depth, the running backs, the seemingly tired pass rushers.
But 8-2 is 8-2, and if there were concerns about the fact that the Patriots had been beating up on the NFL’s worst teams, the counter to that is that they’ve now gone to both Buffalo and Tampa Bay and come out with wins. The team does not control the schedule–it can only control beating the opponents that schedule offers.
Now, Patriots legend Tom Brady has gotten on board. As part of his duties with Fox Sports, Brady puts out his weekly power rankings, and for the first time, the Patriots have made some serious headway on his list: They’re ranked in the Top 3.
Patriots Hit No. 3 on Tom Brady’s List
Brady started by bumping the Colts, at 8-2, down to No. 10, with the Lions, Chiefs, Chargers and Buccaneers, his final NFL team, at No. 9 on up to No. 6. The Broncos and Seahawks came in at No. 5 and No. 4, before Brady broke out with his (original) old team.
“New England breaks into the Top 3 with a convincing win in Tampa. What more is there to say? The knock on this team had been their schedule, but they went into a hostile environment and beat a great team that was playing well heading into the game,” Brady said.
“Shoutout to Stefon Diggs, who’s given this locker room a whole new attitude throughout this seven-game winning streak.”
Brady rounded out his Top 5 with the Rams and Eagles.
GettyDrake Maye won’t “change” his playing style for the New England Patriots, despite a key mistake vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Maybe Tom Brady Is Right And They’re … Contenders?
Now, it could be said that Brady is biased, of course, but it should be pointed out that he is not the only one who is increasingly giving the Patriots’ hot start more and more legitimacy. At The Athletic on Thursday morning, the site’s NFL folks attempted to sort out the “contenders” from the “pretenders” and came to a pretty eye-opening conclusion about the 8-2 AFC teams–the Patriots, Colts and Broncos.
Colts and Broncos? Pretenders.
Patriots? Contenders.
The site wrote: “The Patriots are young, and their roster still has some weak spots, but New England is a legit playoff team capable of going toe-to-toe with any squad.
Exceptional play from Drake Maye has been key, along with a balanced offensive approach, a stingy defense and impactful contributions on special teams. They already have quality wins against perennial playoff teams such as the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
Patriots Must Stay Focused on Task at Hand
Of course, this is all hot air and media conjecture, and not worth all that much here in Week 10. The Patriots will face the Jets on “Thursday Night Football” and if they somehow bungle their way to an unexpected loss in that one, the opinions of Brady and The Athletic will take a 180-degree turn.
The Jets are just 2-7, but rookie Will Campbell insists his team is not taking them lightly.
“I haven’t heard anyone say that this was gon’ be an easy win,” Campbell told reporters. “I don’t think that records in the NFL matter, at all. Every team has players in the National Football League. Every team has Pro Bowlers, players that can hurt you if you don’t do your job. This is a divisional game. It’s never gonna be easy playing when you’re playing in the division.”
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