NFL legend and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady watched the New England Patriots dismantle his team in a 45-17 blowout win at Gillette Stadium last week.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had the best performance of his NFL career with 374 passing yards and four touchdowns, along with 25 rushing yards and one touchdown. He accomplished all of that while dealing with multiple injuries on the offensive side of the ball, including A.J. Brown, Mack Hollins, Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson and Mike Onwenu.
It was a dramatic turnaround performance from a team that some viewed as finished after the first three weeks of the season. But Brady knows more than anybody that you can never count out the Patriots.
"Yeah, a tale as old as time in New
England—I've heard it before," Brady said when revealing his Week 5 NFL power rankings. "I was there when it happened. The sky's falling, and the Pats are dead in the water, until they aren't. Drake has responded so great. There was a first real slump early in the season, but he's throwing the ball with confidence now. And again, the whole team is feeding off of it. Aaron Rodgers could have said it best all of those years ago, 'Relax, everyone.' This is a damn good football team."
Brady ultimately ranked the Patriots at No. 7, ahead of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
They are coming off two impressive wins over the Raiders and Buffalo Bills. The team that made the improbable playoff run last year is finally starting to show up. Maye and the offense is playing with fire, and the defense has been an enigma no matter who is on the field.
Oh, and they are getting healthier. Brown and star cornerback Christian Gonzalez both returned to practice on Wednesday. The arrow is once again beginning to point up in New England.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Tom Brady makes strong statement on Patriots, Drake Maye after Week 5
