Happy Thanksgiving!
Last year heading into Week 13 your New England Patriots were the turkeys, standing at 3-9 and ranked 25th in the NFL. This season there is so much to be grateful for. No longer operating
in a tryptophan funk, this team is on top of the league, serving up the best football fans have seen in years. From famine to feast. How sweet it is!
I won’t try to make the case that the Bengals game wasn’t sloppy and ineffectual at certain points. But watching it on replay – without the clench factor, the Patriots efforts weren’t as rotten as first impressions led me to believe. It’s okay. They’re not all pretty. The important thing is that the team was able to win while not looking their best. The coaching staff is competent enough to take the lesson that was given and hopefully fix what was broken.
Unfortunately, some of the things that were broken were key players on the offensive line and special teams – on top of losing star defender Milton Williams last week. All-around depth was thin at the beginning of the season and it won’t be easy filling those spots going forward.
Up next the New York Giants, led by interim head coach Mike Kafka, come to Foxborough for a prime-time matchup. The Giants led by double digits last week before losing in OT vs. the Detroit Lions. The Giants showed off plenty of trick plays with QB Jameis Winston, so who knows what they’ll cook up this week. The Pats are 7.5 point favorites against the 2-10 reeling Giants. But in my view neither the spread, the opponent’s record nor style points are important. The Patriots’ backups need to step up and the team needs to find a way to win. I believe they will.
GO PATS!!
Around the AFC East:
New England Patriots (10-2) vs. New York Giants (2-10)
Buffalo Bills (7-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
Miami Dolphins (4-7) vs. New Orleans Saints (2-9)
New York Jets (2-9) vs. Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
AFC Matchups:
Denver Broncos (9-2) at Washington Commanders (3-8)
Indianapolis Colts (8-3) vs. Houston Texans (6-5)
Baltimore Ravens (6-5) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8)
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4) at Tennessee Titans (1-10)
Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) at Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1)
Cleveland Browns (3-8) vs. San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
2nd – NFL Nation (ESPN): Thanksgiving game memory: Linebacker Tedy Bruschi’s touchdown in 2002. Bruschi returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown — with teammate and current Patriots coach Mike Vrabel crossing the goal line with him in celebration — as the Patriots recorded their first win on the holiday. The touchdown secured a 20-12 decision over the host Lions. The Patriots wore their red “Pat Patriot” throwbacks in that game — just as they would in 2010 when they returned to Detroit and long-haired Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in a blowout win. — Mike Reiss. [+3]
2nd – Pete Prisco (CBS Sports): They just keep on winning games. The AFC playoffs look like they will be going through Foxboro. [nc]
2nd – Ralph Vacchiano (FOX Sports): They survived an early scare against the Burrow-less Bengals, but rallied nicely. It’s possible they’re still a product of their cotton candy schedule, but there’s no arguing with nine straight wins or 10-2. [+2]
3rd – Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): The Patriots were a little sloppy early in Cincinnati but their defense sparked them into pulling away with better offense. The MVP attention on Drake Maye is taking away from what a complete team they are to have the AFC’s best record. [+1]
3rd – Nate Davis (USA Today): Strong argument that multi-talented Marcus Jones is the Pats’ best corner and one of their most valuable players. [-1]
3rd – Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk): They’ll need to overcome a couple of key offensive injuries. [+2]
4th – Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports): Week 12 was great for the Patriots. The Bills lost as favorites and looked awful. The Patriots weren’t exceptional but they did win at the Bengals. They are 2.5 games clear of the Bills in the loss column, meaning the head-to-head rematch takes on less importance in the AFC East. [+2]
5th – Eric Edholm (NFL.com): That’s now a shocking nine straight wins, but Sunday’s 26-20 result didn’t feel like a celebratory victory. New England barely escaped Cincinnati, with Drake Maye looking lost early and the Patriots not converting on two big red-zone possessions to keep the game achingly close. They ultimately finished the job, but two big concerns coming out of the win were injuries to rookie OLs Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. Mike Vrabel has already said Campbell is going to miss some time, while Wilson’s status is more unclear. This is not ideal, as Maye has already taken way too many hits this season. The defense (Khyiris Tonga) and special teams (Brenden Schooler) also suffered injuries, and don’t forget that Milton Williams remains on IR for at least three more games. If the Bengals were a tough out, so too will be the plucky Giants this coming Monday night. The bye falls after that game, and the Pats will definitely need it, even as high as they’ve flown this season. [+1]
5th – Conor Orr (SI): I’ve become too much of a “schedule guy” of late and I think that playing inferior opponents—New England has the lowest S.O.S. of all teams currently in the AFC playoff field—is only relevant to a certain point. Ten wins is 10 wins and the Patriots get the Giants, Jets and Dolphins on the schedule. Will Campbell injury aside, we could be locking in a first-round bye sooner rather than later. [-2]
9th – Diante Lee (The Ringer): There are cracks in the foundation. This year’s Patriots remind me a lot of the 2019 Ravens. They have a young, dynamic quarterback who’s in his first full season as a starter; said starter is lighting up the league en route to possibly a top seed in the playoffs; and he’s capturing our imagination as the league’s next superstar. Unfortunately, in the playoffs after the 2019 season, Baltimore’s magical run came to an end when they faced competent opponents with more balanced rosters. Drake Maye isn’t the athlete Lamar Jackson is, but it’s striking how often he (like Jackson) is left alone to hold the entire organization up on his shoulders. If one rough quarter against a bad Bengals squad was enough to take Sunday’s game down to the wire, what’ll happen against an elite team? [-1]
AVG RANK: 3.8 [+0.5]
