I’m going to say it, the Patriots are so unbelievably back. They had a fantastic offseason, bringing in Mike Vrabel to take over as head coach, signing key free agents like Stefon Diggs, Harold Landry, and Robert Spillane, and overall changing the culture in the locker room compared to the pretentious and entitled atmosphere Jerod Mayo and Bill Belichick created in the last few years. The Patriots currently sit at 3-2 on the season but could very easily be 4-1 or even 5-0. Throughout the beginning of the season, we have seen flashes of what this team can do. But their last game against the Buffalo Bills was the true measuring stick for this team. Drake Maye looked like the real deal in this game. Despite not throwing or running in any touchdowns, Maye proved to be a true professional and made dynamic throw after dynamic throw. The defense was rock solid all game long, credit to Marcus Jones and Rob Spillane for anchoring the defense throughout the game. The team proved to the entire league that the Patriots aren’t going to be a pushover team anymore. Rather, they proved to be the team no one in the AFC is going to want to face come playoff time. There is an energy with this group that we have simply not seen from the Patriots since really the Brady years. The Buffalo game was the first time myself and many other Patriots fans were genuinely excited for a game of this magnitude since the run Mac Jones went on when he was a rookie. The team has fully bought into Mike Vrabel’s system and have also bought into the culture that he has created. This Patriots team is vastly different than years past, this team has an edge to them. Thats something that can’t be said for the last few years. They know how good they are and know what they have. Looking ahead for this team there is no reason that this team can’t go on a crazy winning streak which includes games against the Saints, Jets, and Giants. Easily the Pats can steamroll Saints, Titans, Browns, and then the Falcons. That brings them to 7-2 when they play Tampa Bay. That game is their next measuring stick. The Buccs are one of the best teams in the league with one of the best QBs in the league in Baker Mayfield. What works in the Patriots favor here is how similarly built the Buccs and Bills are. A similar formula could very easily be the key for the Patriots to beat the Buccs. For sake of conversation lets say the pats come out on top here and are now at 8-2, they then will go on to play the Jets, Bengals, then the Giants before heading into the bye week. Based on what we have seen it is simply not out of the realm of possibility that the Patriots are 11-2 going into their bye week. After their bye week they have what could be a difficult 2 games. The first being a rematch with the Bills which can go either way. For sake of the debate we’ll just say that they lose to Buffalo coming out of the bye and are sitting at 11-3. They then go to Baltimore to play the Ravens. This is a game where I think it can go either way considering how the Ravens have looked. With being full of injuries and defensive struggles I think the Patriots can win this game based on if the Ravens are still this bad in December. If we say that then the team will be 12-3 with two games against the Jets and Dolphins left. I think at this point the team could be resting starters and they go 1-1 in their final 2 because of that. Meaning there is a CHANCE that the Patriots are sitting at 13-4 entering the postseason. Imagine that turnaround, after the circus that was last season turning around and doing the exact opposite would be an unbelievable story. Even looking at the AFC in terms of what teams are deemed as “good” right now are all teams that the Patriots can beat, such as the Colts, the Broncos, and they already proved that they can beat the Bills. The NFL season has been a wild one to start, it may be one of those years where an obscure or a total underdog takes the league by the horns and goes on a run like this Patriots team. The ultimate question is whether or not the team is ready for the spotlight when postseason football rolls around. In the words of Stefon Diggs that will be the rallying cry of this team; “We all we got. We all we need.” That’s The Take