Remember a few weeks ago when there was actual discussion of the Patriots potentially playing the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl?
Yeah, that was a thing.
And it wasn’t just talk-show chatter, there were actual computer projections that had it as the most likely Super Bowl matchup. That was when the Patriots were riding high on a seven-game win streak, Mac Jones had the best passer rating in the NFL since Week 4 and the defense was the No. 1 ranked scoring defense in the league.
But was this reality, or a case of the Patriots playing a soft schedule as well as getting a few breaks along the way with their opponents missing some key players due to injury?
After what we’ve seen the last two games, probably the latter.
And because of that, the seven-game win streak, the way the Patriots are being viewed is not accurate.
The Patriots are 9-6 and currently the No. 6 seed in the AFC still with a chance at the division the last two weeks of the year. Sure, they would need the Bills to lose to either the Falcons or Jets and the Patriots would need to win both their games, but the point remains, with two weeks left in the regular season the Patriots still have a shot at winning the division. Additionally, they have a 96% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Back on Sept. 6, before the Patriots kicked off the season against the Dolphins, if this was all presented to Patriots fans, they would have signed up for it 10 times out of 10.
After going 7-9 last season and now having a rookie quarterback under center to go along with so many new pieces in free agency, making the playoffs would absolutely be labeled a successful season.
Now, because of those computer projections putting the Patriots in the Super Bowl and Jones performing well against some subpar defenses, the Patriots potentially not winning the AFC East and playing a road playoff game is being viewed as a failure.
Let’s just say the Patriots were still 9-6 at this point in the season, but had beaten the Saints or Dolphins earlier in the year and lost to the Browns in Week 10, the narrative with the team would be completely different.
It would be more of it’s great that Jones has put the Patriots in a position to make the postseason and the team is performing well in the first year of a “retool.”
That’s the other thing, the Patriots are not a finished product.
Going into the year it was known the team had several holes that would need addressed down the road, likely before 2022 — namely a No. 1 wide receiver. It wasn’t expected the team would be mentioned in Super Bowl talk, but because of the seven-game win streak, it probably unfairly was.
Relating to the division, the Bills are close to their peak. Josh Allen is playing at an extremely high level with a great deal of talent around him and the resources put into the defense the last several years are paying off. The Bills are supposed to be winning now.
On the other hand, the Patriots really are not. Did Allen contend for the AFC East in his rookie season? Nope. It takes time and the Patriots are just beginning their climb back up the mountain.
New England found its quarterback of the future and is still working through finalizing some big pieces as it moves forward. Very rarely does a team go from 7-9 to the Super Bowl. It takes time and steady progression, which making the postseason this year would be just fine and acceptable.
While it’s easy to look back at what a computer said about the Patriots a few weeks ago, just think about the big picture and realize this is just the beginning for the team and is a solid first step in regaining AFC supremacy.
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