So the New England Patriots are now 3-2. They won each of their last two games (against the Buffalo Bills, who almost everybody pinned as the AFC favorites, and the Las Vegas Raiders, who were 3-1 heading into Week 4). Drake Maye looks like Drake Maye again. The rest of the receivers seem to be figuring things out, and A.J. Brown might come back next week. The AFC doesn't look as strong as it did to begin the season. And the Patriots' schedule is only going to get easier from here on out.
Obviously, not all is good in New England (Christian Gonzalez, Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson, Carlton Davis III, Mack Hollins, and Mike Onwenu are all dealing with injuries), but there is still a lot for fans to be excited about moving forward, especially as the team looks to redeem itself from its loss in Super Bowl LX.
The Patriots may actually be Super Bowl contenders after all
It seemed like everyone in New England was ready to count the Patriots out after the first few weeks of the season, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Maye looked like a mess. Brown got injured in the first game. Romeo Doubs had an awful debut (and has been inconsistent since). And the running game was nonexistent.
But things have turned around in the blink of an eye, and the Patriots are turning things around and building momentum. They are just 0.5 games behind the Bills (who are facing the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night) in the AFC East standings, and only Buffalo, the Baltimore Ravens (4-1), the Jacksonville Jaguars (also 4-1), and the Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) have a better record in the conference than they do.
If the Patriots keep up this level of play, then there is no game on the rest of the schedule that looks like an easy loss for them (the closest would maybe be @ the Detroit Lions in Germany in Week 10 or @ Kansas City in Week 15 on Monday night). They are beginning to heat up at a fantastic time, and the rest of the league should be terrified of them.
Despite how bad a start they had to this season, the Patriots are still the reigning AFC champions, and they are figuring things out. Players are finding their groove, and the offensive playcalling has gotten much better (more creative, less restrictive and predictable). I'm not going to say the Patriots need to book their ticket to Super Bowl LXI right now, but at this rate, they are a team that everybody else in the league needs to keep an eye on. Again.
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