New England Patriots - NESN.com
Few, if any NFL fans could have predicted that the New England Patriots would have a better record than both the Baltimore Ravens (1-4) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) entering Week 6.
The Patriots (3-2) aren’t the only surprise in the league this fall, as both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts shockingly sit atop the AFC South at 4-1.
Austin Mock of The Athletic looked at each of the aforementioned squads as the “3 surprise teams” that have “emerged to fill contender void in AFC” on Thursday.
Mock said that with head coach Mike Vrabel at the helm and quarterback Drake Maye under center, New England “should absolutely be locked into a playoff spot come January.”
“My preseason take on the Patriots was that they have a coach who has won before, an exciting young quarterback and one of the league’s easiest schedules, so there was plenty of reason for hope. And for the most part, that’s held up,” he wrote. “But the biggest reason to get behind this is quarterback Drake Maye. Maye showed flashes of his massive upside when he took over as a starter last year, and he has shown even more so far this season.”
Mock’s one piece of criticism for Maye is that the second-year signal-caller is “taking too many sacks,” but he added that it’s “nice to see him still being incredibly efficient despite those negative plays.”
“Also, I mentioned the easy schedule, but I’m not sure many understand just how easy it is. They have the easiest remaining schedule, per my model, by a landslide. No one else is really even close,” he wrote.
The Patriots pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season in Week 5, dropping the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, 23-20.
New England hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2021 season.
With the New Orleans Saints (1-4) waiting in Week 6 and the Tennessee Titans (1-4) and Cleveland Browns (1-4) on tap for Weeks 7 and 8, the Patriots could very well be 6-2 entering November.
