Following the New England Patriots 29-26 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills last weekend, head coach Mike Vrabel labeled his team as “back in the race.”
After dropping two of their first three games — including being on the wrong side of a 35-6 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars — the response in Buffalo was a huge win for Vrabel and his team.
Beyond getting back to .500 on the year, the Patriots avoided dropping two games behind the Bills in the AFC East. Back in the race, they are.
In the
latest SB Nation Reacts survey, 42% of participants seem to be in agreement with the head coach as they are eyeing the playoffs.
Some in the comment section argued in each direction:
Felkey
Need to see more consistency from Maye. Can’t be having mid game meltdowns like he did against Seattle or Jacksonville. Assuming Maye can revert to his normal firm and this was a sign of things to come, I still maintain 11-6 or better is a reasonable goal. Especially if we can start getting some guys back from injury.
Bajer
of course , they are only one game back with 1 games to play. It’d be silly to see it any other way. I definitely still need to see more, and Drake HAS to stop being a turnover machine– but the beat the best team in the afc east , that has to count for something. let;s see how they do in a few more games, ad then we can revisit the Q
PDCeltics
Poll needs a “they were never out of it” option.
Gonzucla
Unless some major changes happen on offense, I still believe they are a 6-win team.
All in all, this week’s survey results look as follows:
While the majority of voters believe playoffs are possible, a heavy percentage are a step above or below that feeling. 27% believe this Patriots team is fully legit, while 26% still need to see more after their 2-2 start to the season. Just 5%, however, are still skeptical even after the win in Buffalo.
The Patriots win in Buffalo, coupled with a bounce back performance from Drake Maye, has fan confidence back trending in a positive direction.
After fan confidence bottomed out to just 9% in last week’s poll, 82% of Patriots fans feel the team is headed in the right direction this week.
The Patriots will hope to keeping trending in a positive direction with the ultimate goal of getting back to the Super Bowl. They currently have the 14th best odds to hoist the Lombardi trophy on FanDuel Sportsbook — seventh best in the AFC.
Patriots fans: Make your pick in the SB Nation app!
Take Reacts surveys, create Patriots polls, and see how your answers compare with fellow Pats Pulpit fans. Then discuss the results with the Patriots community.
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