With two Yuge wins, the Patriots are officially on an upward streak. The experts have noticed. Nick Shook from NFL.com ridiculously had the Pats ranked 31st two weeks ago ahead of the Bills game, but has since acknowledged the Pats rising from the ashes. The rest of the other experts have as well. Nice to see New England back in the top 10 where it feels they belong.
Coming to town this coming Sunday are the 2-3 New York Jets. Pats fans may take them lightly, but the organization can’t afford to. A loss puts both teams at 3-3, with the Jets moving to second place in the AFC East. No one wants that. Everyone knows how much extra weight division and conference games carry in the standings, precisely why this matchup matters.
The Pats are operating on an over-stuffed injury report and depleted roster. Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels and Zak Kuhr made it work effectively last week. Wednesday the initial Week 6 injury report comes out, giving us a better idea of which players are available but I think the coaching staff can keep it duct-taped together for another week. Pats head into the new week favored by 7.5. Geno Smith has thrown zero interceptions so far this season, but I believe New England’s defense will find a way to disrupt his passing game. I see the Patriots winning and padding their divisional lead over New York.
Buffalo Bills (4-1) at Las Vegas Raiders (3-2)
New England Patriots (3-2) vs. New York Jets (2-3)
Miami Dolphins (0-5) – Bye Week
Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) vs. Los Angeles Chargers (0-5)
Baltimore Ravens (4-1) at Cleveland Browns (3-2)
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1) vs. Houston Texans (1-4)
Denver Broncos (3-2) vs. Seattle Seahawks (3-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4)
Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) -Bye Week
Indianapolis Colts (2-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (0-5)
6th – Nate Davis (USA Today): QB Drake Maye has seemingly captured his MVP-caliber form the past two weeks after a very rough September. Might he even go to another level given WR A.J. Brown could be back as soon as Sunday against the Jets? [+1]
7th – Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): Drake Maye’s first three games: average of 195 passing yards per game, 1 touchdown to six interceptions, 72 total rushing yards. Maye’s past two games: average of 322 passing yards per game, 7 TDs to 1 INT, 79 total rushing yards. What’s the difference? Might just be playing easier pass defenses of Buffalo and Las Vegas. [+2]
7th – Ian Glendon (Full Press Coverage): The Patriots have completely changed their season in two weeks. Beating Buffalo was the attention-grabber, but crushing Las Vegas 45-17 was the confirmation. Drake Maye and the offense looked explosive, and New England suddenly has a real argument as one of the AFC’s most dangerous teams. The Jacksonville loss still exists, but it feels a lot farther away now. [+2]
9th – NFL Nation (ESPN): Biggest issue on defense: Cornerback depth. They played with only three healthy CBs on Sunday, as starters Christian Gonzalez (shoulder) and Carlton Davis III (neck) were inactive, and rookie backups Karon Prunty and Channing Canada were unavailable because of hamstring injuries. When fill-in starter Charles Woods left the game in the second half because of a shoulder injury, it further thinned a perilous CB situation, leaving just Marcus Jones and Kindle Vildor as available options. New England has allowed a 66% completion percentage this season, which ranks 25th in the NFL. — Mike Reiss [+5]
9th – Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk): The patriotic pigeons had a field day on Tom Brady’s statue. [+4]
10th – Conor Orr (SI): I don’t really care whether it was a designed play or not, but Efton Chism’s in-game backwards pass, which followed an unbelievable end zone grab the week prior against the Bills, ensures that the story of the NFL in 2026 cannot be written without Josh McDaniels and a white Patriots wide receiver shorter than six feet tall. Time is truly a flat circle. [+2]
10th – Nick Shook (NFL): It took one wild win over the Bills to return the Patriots to excellence. They detonated the Raiders on Sunday, with fantastic offensive performances by Drake Maye, Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas — heck, just throw in every skill-position player. They all feasted in a game that saw New England finish with 536 yards of offense, pairing perfectly with a defense that put the clamps on Las Vegas early. [+8]
11th – Pete Prisco (CBS Sports): Drake Maye has righted things in a big way. He’s been on fire the past two weeks as the Pats have turned their season around. [+4]
11th – Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports): Drake Maye isn’t a bad QB. Go figure. After naysayers got their licks in during Maye’s three-game slump to start the season, which was an extension of his postseason issues, Maye has 643 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 79 rushing yards and a rushing score in his last two games. Those games came against the Bills and Raiders, who had one combined loss before facing New England. Stunning, but a 24-year-old QB who was one vote from winning MVP last season might still be good. [+2]
13th – Ralph Vacchiano (FOX Sports): The Patriots are such a different team when Drake Maye is playing like Drake Maye. In the first three games of the season, Maye threw just one touchdown pass with six interceptions and averaged 195 passing yards per contest. But in the last two games — both wins — he’s had seven touchdown passes, one interception with an impressive 321.5 passing yards per game. And with him rolling, their running game was suddenly working, too. It’s no wonder that they made quick work of the upstart Raiders. And with the Jets and Dolphins coming up in their next three games, they’ve got a shot to get on a little bit of a roll now, too. Stat To Know: The Patriots averaged 12 points per game in Weeks 1-3, ranking 31st in the NFL. In Weeks 4-5, they averaged a league-best 37 points per game. [+2]
