Pats Pulpit
Check out what the experts are saying about the Patriots heading into Week 9
Last week’s storyline has gone soft. The new thinking is head coach Jerod Mayo knew what he was doing when he publicly called out his team, and that his words spurred - or shamed - the players into action.
While Sunday was a fun win — and it’s always a good day to beat the Jets, I’m not so quick to read too much into the victory. Using the softness scale, the Jets team that showed up at Gillette Stadium ranked “custard”. The Jets were the perfect opponent for the Pats to rebound against and show they could indeed fight, and win. That’s all to the good, but we’ll have to play more games and see what sticks. Frankly, the wins and losses don’t mean as much to me this season as a good showing. Win or lose I will cheer louder for the Patriots when they have few to no penalties, a positive turnover ratio, kept the QB upright, and have the offense turn a red-zone visit into points.
Week 9 has the Patriots facing another winnable matchup on the softness scale, the pudding-like 1-6 Tennessee Titans. Yes, I’m saying there’s a chance. The Jets have the 6-2 Texans and the Dolphins face the division-leading Bills. Aside from Buffalo, the AFC East ranks “applesauce” and I’ll admit it’s been amusing to watch the Jets and Fins sputter.
The NFL has hit the 2024 halfway point and the standings are still fluid, but there won’t be as much room to maneuver in the rankings after this week. Here’s hoping New England can continue to prove themselves right about hiring Jerod Mayo, and the Titans wrong for firing Mike Vrabel. Pats win another close one.
GO PATS!
Around the AFC East:
Buffalo Bills (6-2) vs. Miami Dolphins (2-5)
New England Patriots (2-6) at Tennessee Titans (1-6)
New York Jets (2-6) vs. Houston Texans (6-2)
AFC Matchups:
Kansas City Chiefs (7-0) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) - Bye Week
Baltimore Ravens (5-3) vs. Denver Broncos (5-3)
Indianapolis Colts (4-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) at Cleveland Browns (2-6)
Cincinnati Bengals (3-5) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
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25th - Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk): Maybe Jerod Mayo should call his team soft every week. [+6]
26th - Nate Davis (USA Today): Rookie QB Drake Maye notched his first NFL win while in concussion protocol. So if this team is “soft” … [+1]
27th - Diante Lee (The Ringer): *Soft teams don’t pull through in games like this. With Aaron Rodgers finding his groove and Drake Maye exiting the game with a concussion, I had no expectations that New England would be able to move the ball well enough to stay in the game against the Jets on Sunday—let alone be able to win. But the Patriots clearly have more fight in them than I (and head coach...
