It’s okay to believe in the New England Patriots.
At least until the playoffs arrive. And maybe even then, too.
At a time when much of the AFC’s elite, or perceived elite, continue to show their warts, the Patriots are taking full advantage of their last-places schedule and flexing new muscles every week, learning how to win games against inferior foes. There’s a maturity to the way they play despite being so young, and it’s going to result in head coach Mike Vrabel winning coach of the year, and it just might produce an improbable MVP award for second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
The limitations of their schedule — their only victories against playoff teams have come against the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — make it difficult to fully examine them. But they are earning respect by the week: Vrabel has clearly altered their confidence and they just might end up with the top seed in the AFC. (They’re also 8-0 in games that all-pro corner Christian Gonzalez plays, allowing just 17.3 points per game).
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“They’re a really solid football team. You can’t take that away from them,” said a high-ranking official of one team that has played New England this season and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he’s not permitted to publicly discuss other team’s players. “Vrabel has taught them how to close games out. They play smart football and Josh [McDaniels, the offensive coordinator] really was the perfect guy for the QB. … I wish we had that damn quarterback, man. He’s special. He really reminds me of Josh Allen. … Do I think that they could go to Kansas City and beat [Patrick] Mahomes? Probably not. But they might not have to go on the road at all.”
One longtime NFL executive who has watched them closely pointed out this upstart team hasn’t really had to play from behind. “Have they led at halftime in every game?” asked the executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss other teams. “It feels that way. They could struggle when that script flips.”
The Patriots have led at the half 10 times — three more than any other team. Their inexperience may show more as the stakes get higher and the playoffs arrive. But sweeping the Bills will most likely clinch them the division, and Vrabel has a way of getting the most out of his talent.
The Patriots are already just the second team to start a season 9-2 after losing 13 games or more the previous two seasons (joining the 1999 Colts), and Maye is just the third second-year QB to throw for at least 200 yards in 11 straight games to start the season, joining Mahomes and Dan Marino. Not too shabby.
They won’t be an easy out in January.
Mason Rudolph time?
Aaron Rodgers’s wrist injury might be a blessing in disguise for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Numerous evaluators have pointed out in recent weeks that it appeared the 41-year-old was hitting the wall and becoming a problem for the Steelers offense.
Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph should give the team a bump and more positive energy if he gets to play a few weeks. There also could be a scenario where Rudolph keeps the gig. Rodgers has had more trouble pushing the ball down the field, his decision-making has been shaky and, well, head coach Mike Tomlin did bench Justin Fields a year ago for Russell Wilson despite Fields having a winning record.
“His body language [friggin] sucks,” a longtime evaluator said of Rodgers. The evaluator spoke on the condition of anonymity because he’s not permitted to publicly discuss other team’s players. “It’s always everybody else [messing] up, but never him. He’s holding the ball too long. He gets rattled too easy with the screaming and yelling. Rudolph has better legs. Neither one is winning a game with his arm. It might work out okay for them.”
Around the league
Will the Cincinnati Bengals really run quarterback Joe Burrow back out there next week? It’s bloody unlikely. When your defense is giving up 33.4 points a game this deep in the season and you have just three wins and your offensive line stinks and your franchise quarterback is always getting some surgery or the other, prudence best become the rule. …
The Chicago Bears have won seven of their last eight games and you don’t hear all of the ridiculous Caleb Williams slander anymore, do you? The second-year quarterback finally has a real NFL staff around him. The Bears are an impressive 5-3 when trailing in the final two minutes this season, and Williams has already tied an all-time Bears record with five fourth-quarter comebacks in a single season. …
It’s difficult to envision a scenario in which head coach Raheem Morris is back with the Atlanta Falcons next season. And you can bet your mortgage that the next head coach in Atlanta will be a quarterback-guru type, and not someone from the defensive side of the ball. …
Miami Dolphins Coach Mike McDaniel is a really nice guy and has a lot of buddies in the media, but there’s no way he is coming back next season. Don’t fall for the okeydoke. His offense is utterly erratic and his plus-territory play calling is atrocious. No way that is lost on the Dolphins front office.
The post Don’t be fooled by the Patriots’ soft schedule. They’re legit.
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