The New England Patriots reached their bye week in a privileged position. They’re 11-2 and have the best record in the AFC, regardless of their strength of schedule or whatever the naysayers say.
That’s why Mike Vrabel’s men shouldn’t have any more pressure at this point. They’ve already exceeded expectations, and they can play like a team that doesn’t have anything to lose.
At least, that’s how Alec Shane of Pats Pulpit feels. In his latest column, he explained why this team’s strong start to the season has all but guaranteed this campaign to be a success.
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“I’ll say it again: this entire season, no matter what happens from here on out, is a massive win,” Shane wrote. “Even if they lose the next four games and go one-and-done in the playoffs, or even somehow miss the playoffs entirely at 11-6, I’m still standing by that statement. This team has already exceeded expectations, and all that a complete implosion and doomsday scenario would hammer home is how it took some kind of unprecedented and inexplicable collapse for the Patriots to fall down to what most people had pegged as the highest possible ceiling for the team this year.”
Of course, that’s not to say that the Patriots don’t have to keep their foot on the gas for the remainder of the season. However, this situation should take plenty of pressure off their shoulders.
No matter what, they’ve already shown that they’re far ahead of schedule in terms of their rebuilding project, and this team looks ready to compete at a high level for years to come.