After three weeks of the 2026 season the public turned on the defending American Football Conference Champion New England Patriots like they were headed to the garbage heap. They had just lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars by 29 points, 35-6, and won only once over their first trio of games.
Claims that they only got through the gauntlet of an NFL season to arrive at the Super Bowl were attributed to a weak schedule and their AFC Championship Game opponent missing their starting quarterback.
Now, after handing the Buffalo Bills their only loss of the season, blowing out the Las Vegas Raiders and getting by the New York Jets, the praise for Mike Vrabel’s team is back on the rise.
So, who are the New England Patriots and was the chatter they weren’t that good or they are a contender to win it all the right call?
Here is the deal, the Patriots beat the Bills in a perfect motivation spot and didn’t dominate the Jets last week in their seven-point home victory. Are the Patriots not as special as last year’s team?
They aren’t.