New England Patriots
Remarkable. Almost unbelievable. And yet as real as the rain.
Yes, yes, mmm-hmm, I know.
One game at a time. Consider only the next opponent. Don’t count your victories before they’ve hatched.
Mike Vrabel’s Patriots won’t take any of their remaining six regular-season games for granted, so neither should we.
I get the sentiment, a remnant of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady years.
Now please join me while I try to figure out whether the Patriots can run the table.
Hey, I know we’re not supposed to get ahead of ourselves. But it’s kind of impossible not to when the Patriots have won eight in a row through this weekend’s mini-bye.
When the Patriots started the season 1-2, I was worried that my preseason prediction of nine wins — the most optimistic of the participating Globe writers — was going to be about four too many.
And now here they are, having already matched that nine-win projection with a half-dozen games remaining. Remarkable. Almost unbelievable. And yet as real as the rain.
The Patriots themselves need to stay focused, and Vrabel and his staff will. But we don’t have to be so rigid. We can enjoy this, because what they’re doing is rare and special and it’s supposed to be enjoyed. It’s crazy, but it feels a heck of a lot like 2001 around here, and I sure didn’t think I’d ever say that again.
So here’s the question of the day: Can the Patriots win out heading into the playoffs? This century, the Patriots have ended a regular season with a winning streak of six games or more six times:
2001: six straight after an encouraging Week 10 loss to the Rams dropped them to 5-5. They would meet again, and were they ever ready.
2003: 12 straight, en route to 21 consecutive wins, playoffs included, through Week 7 of the 2004 season.
2007: 16 straight — the entire regular season was a winning streak unto itself. This is the most dominant team of all time, Super Bowl hiccup be damned.
2010: eight straight, preceding postseason disaster against the Jets.
2011: eight straight, in case you’d forgotten how those Belichick/Brady teams usually got better and better as the season played out.
2016: seven straight, none of which required coming back from a 28-3 deficit. They saved the best for last.
If the Patriots win out over the final six weeks this season, that would send them into the playoffs on a 14-game winning streak. That would have seemed unfathomable two months ago. Now? It’s plausible, if still unlikely.
For the sport of it, and because we are allowed to get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a glance at each of the remaining games and project how the Patriots might fare in trying to keep their streak alive.
Week 12 at Bengals: Joe Burrow, who has been out since suffering a toe injury in Week 2, returned to practice in a limited capacity last week, but it’s unlikely that he’s ready for game action by next Sunday. His stand-in, veteran Joe Flacco, has been a Patriots nuisance in his long career — he beat Tom Brady in the playoffs twice, and nearly did it a third time during his Ravens’ heyday. But the Bengals’ atrocious defense — they are dead-last in the NFL, allowing (33.4 per game) — won’t give him a chance this time. Patriots win in a shootout.
Week 13 vs. Giants: Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has already won over Giants fans with his reckless-abandon style of play. But that recklessness caught up to him in Week 10, when he suffered a concussion against the Browns. He has visited the blue medical tent four times this season for concussion checks. It would be wise for the Giants to be cautious with him the rest of the way, but he could be cleared to play for next Sunday. A Drake Maye-Dart showdown on Monday Night Football would be fun, but the Patriots shouldn’t have much of a problem with the Giants whether Dart or Jameis Winston starts. Patriots win without much suspense.
Week 14: Bye. Rest up, fellas. Hibernate, even. The next two weeks bring two of the most compelling matchups of the season.
Week 15 vs. Bills: The Patriots’ affirming 23-20 win at Buffalo in Week 5 was portrayed as the Stefon Diggs Revenge Game, after the ex-Bills receiver tormented his former team with 10 catches for 146 yards. Could this matchup 10 weeks later be the Bills’ revenge on that Diggs revenge game? One supposes, but the rested Patriots should have the advantage. Patriots win a tight one.
Week 16 at Ravens: I think this is where it ends. I think this is where a lot of people think it ends, and with good reason. The Ravens, after a stunningly dismal and injury plagued 1-5 start, entered Sunday’s game against the Browns having won three in a row. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed three games (Weeks 5, 6, and 8, with Week 7 the Ravens’ bye), looks like himself again, and Derrick Henry should be at his best as the weather gets colder. The Ravens will likely be fighting for their playoff lives come their matchup with the Patriots, who will still be without Milton Williams. The team that needs it more will prevail. Ravens win as Henry becomes the first and only 100-yard rusher against New England this season.
Week 17 at Jets: By this point, the Jets’ brain trust, presuming there is such a thing, will be fully focused on which future bust of a quarterback they plan to take at the top of the 2026 Draft. Patriots win a rout.
Week 18 vs. Dolphins: I, for one, am going to miss the Mike McDaniel era. This will be his final scene as an NFL head coach, but he has a bright future as the greatest play-caller in Madden any gamer has ever encountered. Patriots win by a large amount, even with backups getting the brunt of the snaps.
So, doing some quick math here, that puts the Patriots at 14-3 heading into the postseason, with their most important moments still to come.
Just as we all predicted in September, right?
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