New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski said recently that he believes his former team is a real Super Bowl contender this season.
While the Patriots enter their Week 10 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tied for the second-best record in the NFL at 7-2 (the Denver Broncos moved to 8-2 on Thursday night), not everyone is ready to put New England into the elite group of teams.
Chad Graff of The Athletic answered fans’ questions in his “mailbag” on Friday morning, including topics such as the team’s quiet trade deadline and their chances in the playoffs.
Though Graff and colleague Josh Kendall recently gave the Patriots an A+ midseason grade, the former wasn’t ready to say the team is a “legit” championship contender.
“The Patriots are way, way better than I thought they’d be this season. They deserve a ton of credit for that,” Graff said. “But they are not in the same conversation as the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, Rams and Lions. (Maybe you could argue for the Buccaneers, Colts or Seahawks being in that mix, too.) To me, those teams are in their own tier of legit Super Bowl contenders.”
The senior writer added that he feels that New England is still “a good offseason away from joining that mix.”
Notably, only three of the Patriots’ first nine opponents this season currently have winning records.
After its Sunday showdown with the Buccaneers (6-2), New England will have another easy slate of games vs. the New York Jets (1-7), Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) and New York Giants (2-7) before the Week 14 bye. The Patriots have two more difficult matchups (on paper) during the regular season, vs. the Buffalo Bills (6-2) and Baltimore Ravens in Weeks 15 and 16.
With quarterback Drake Maye playing like a MVP frontrunner and the team’s winning streak at six, the Patriots’ Super Bowl odds are rising.
A road win vs. Tampa Bay would only boost their chances.
