Patriots ceiling RAISED after defeating Bills

Patriots ceiling RAISED after defeating Bills

What’s the ceiling for these Patriots after the win in Buffalo? How many wins can they get to? So, we were just talking about the Bills and you know, could they compete for the AFC’s title? You guys said you talked about it yesterday. So, I look real quick at the Bills remaining schedule and really only really only saw like four or five games that I thought that they would realistically lose there. So, if that’s the case, let’s just say they lose three or four more. Yep. That would mean the Patriots pretty much can only lose two or three more themselves. 12 and 15 team or 13 and 14. That that that’s probably asking too much, right? But I guess what I’m saying is the gap between them I don’t think is as wide as maybe I did before Sunday night. So, let’s go through the Patriots stuff and you guys help me. Like I feel like they should go down to New Orleans and beat him. Yes. Agree. If you know it would be it would be so disappointing next Monday if you go down there and you just don’t show up. Yep. Cuz you’re humming right now. Everybody’s talking about you. Yep. Then I think they should go to Tennessee and beat the Titans. Agreed. Agreed. They come home. They they face the Browns. I I do think that’s actually going to be a difficult game. That’s a very good defense, but I feel like you should be able to beat the Browns at home. Rookie quarterback. Yep. And not a good one. Okay. Then you get the Falcons at home. I think that could be a tough game. But if they are what I’m saying they are, like I feel like that’s a game that you should I don’t want to say you should have, but like they they’ll be favored. Yeah. They probably will be favored, right? Unless something goes off the rails here. All right. So, are you guys counting for me here? I like real quick here, too. Like that that’s four weeks away. So, why wouldn’t you think that this staff would have this team more buttoned up, more playing together, less mental mistakes to really take advantage of a Atlanta team that really isn’t on the same page with you or in the same same same stratosphere. I think they’ll beat Atlanta. I think they’re going to beat Atlanta easily. Probably go down to Tampa, lose, right? That’s a tough game. Uh, then I think you turn around quickly Thursday night game against the Jets. I feel like I feel like those Thursday night games are always a little tricky, but I’d like to think that you’re coming home and and beating the Jets who are So, you’re winning four of the next five. I think it’s five of the next six. Five of the next six with the Jets and they’re losing to Atlanta. That’s I know. I think we said losing losing losing to Tampa. Okay. Win Atlanta. Okay. Got it. And then and then so then that’s the Jets Thursday night game and then where we at after at the Bengals. At the Bengals. So, you got him as the first wild card. Is that what I’m sensing here? Let’s go. Let’s go. I I mean, I I just went through it. I mean, and what’s Baltimore look like at the end of the year? I’m going to assume that they’re going to be back. Okay. That might be a bad assumption, but I think that’s probably a tough game. Is that night game? Uh, no. That’s a one:00 game, but if things go the way we’re talking, we could have a little bit of a flex December if we I know, but that’s the price of coming back to relevance. Yeah, being relevant. We want to get prime time. So, Beetle would have to work again. Absolutely not. So, did you get flexed into those? Yeah. Uh, I think so. Yeah, I guess. So, Beetle, just just a summary, the games that I think are the ones that I would say like lost right now before even, you know, and there’s going to be injuries and things are going to change, but Buccaneers, um, Baltimore, I’m going to put in there just cuz I’m going to assume that they’re back. Buffalo coming back here after what we saw. Let’s see what they look like, right? They’re going to but I I would think Buffalo is probably maybe going to be favored coming in here, but that’s three. Um Bengals is Burlington. Buffalo will be favored coming here. So So it’s not I mean in terms of of of when I lay it out, it’s not much different. I think their schedule is a little bit better than the the Bills. Do the Patriots need a convincing win on Sunday in New Orleans to put last Sunday night’s win in context of if it be of it being real and it not being a fluke and this team is really building towards something. Nope. Just win. Just win, Beetle. Just stack the wins. I was like, they went 10-9. It doesn’t matter. So 10-9 against the Saints. 109 is validating the win in Buffalo. It makes you 4-2. That’s the overall that that’s the big picture right there. Not Yep. You’re four and freaking just got to find the way. What if they lose 109? Then I would say Monday we got a problem. Yeah. Disappointing. Yep. Welcome to the National Football League where you react to uh Sunday’s games and the the story lines change week to week. That’d be really disappointing if that Yeah. Yeah. You get after him a little bit. Well, I think a convincing win would be um very validating of what they did against Buffalo. Mhm. I do. Do they need it? Um, and I kind of feel like they do. And that doesn’t mean you’re blowing them out by 20 points. I’m just saying convincing in control of the game. They’re playing a bad football a bad football team. They beat the Panthers. They prove they’re not one of those really bad teams in the league. And then they beat one of the best teams in the league the following week. They not only have a like a must-win on the table here. They should be in control of this football game Sunday. But like what why do you say that when that this team just beat the Giants at at their place? A team that the Giants blow but the Giants the week before were coming off their first win if I’m not mistaken. And so it is a little bit of a week- toeek thing. And I look at it this way, Beetle. I think every every week is like a different I guess step because the Patriots have already lost two games to teams that are not that great. They’ve already lost to Pittsburgh and they lost to the Raiders, which looks like a bad loss as the weeks go on. Yeah, it does. Because they’ve already got those losses. So, if you’re trying to tell me, hey, start stacking and counting wins and they’re now, you know, potentially winning the division. Well, you’re not winning the division if you can’t go to New Orleans and beat the Saints. Oh, I agree with that. And do it in a in a way that is, you know, on your terms. Yeah. I I guess I’m less about terms and more about results. just just show just find a way to win. Like so for example, part of the reason that I think this win against the Bills was so impressive was that it was the first time that they were put in a position in the fourth quarter in an adverse hostile environment. And how will you respond, right? Are you going to, you know, urinate down your leg or are you going to rise up to the challenge? And they rose up to the challenge. So this might be a game beetle where they might go down lack of energy. They got to find a way. Scrap it out. And as long as That’ll concern me greatly if there’s a lack of energy. It’s a good test though, isn’t it? It is. I mean, Diggs coming off like easy to get up for this game against Buffalo. Yeah. Oh, you could get all hyped up for Buffalo, but where’s that energy and where’s that and and by the way, the the sort of the rally the rallying he was doing for the team on Sunday. But Beetle, let’s see it again. Let’s see it against uh you know, deadass New Orleans team. But isn’t that the league though? Isn’t this every team? Isn’t that human nature? It’s hard to get up every week, right? And you have to win different ways, different weeks. Sometimes it is low scoring. Sometimes it is like the Panthers game a couple weeks ago where you just bury a team. You know what I mean? Like I sort of look at it like whatever it is that day, find a way. Sort of. Yeah. I think I think Beetle’s point is too like like you you want a team that could just put people away too. Like I I said it yesterday, hey, the Pats are back. That’s being back. You know, you go out there and you punish somebody, pummel them, not just squeak by, not catch a break here, but just come out and dominate for four quarters. When’s the last time they Are the Saints that bad? See, I haven’t really looked like too much into that. Carolina’s a bad team. They’re really a good team. They had their first They had their first one of the year. They got a new staff. Spencer Rattler is their quarterback. You lose this game. All the good you you did here these last two weeks goes for not. I’m gonna tell you the difference between just winning and winning in convincing fashion. And that is if you just win and you squeak by and you’re talking about how that’s the league and it’s human nature. Fine. Then you’re still, you know, you’re going to have a good record. You’ll be at four and two and you’ll be in good shape. But that doesn’t convince me that you’re the type of team that can win 11 games to support Tim McNone’s thing, right? If you lose there, it’s like, well, then all bets are off. You’re just you’re you’ve got some pieces. You’re putting it together some weeks. The difference between mediocre and good and good and great is consistency always, right? Anybody can show you flash in the NFL. Can you do it week over week over week? And and and if they can, I’m going to give them a ton of credit. I mean, that’s the next I’m going to tell you that Monday, if you beat the bag out of the Saints, well, wow, that makes Buffalo look even better than it was on that given night. I’m going to give him that credit. You can’t now. So, I Beetle, you’re the I’ll be the positive guy Monday. And by the way, I think it’s going to happen. Beetle, you’re the best. So, I’m going to turn this around though. So, are you down on the Buccaneers as a as a top NFL team because all they’re doing is winning these close games in the fourth quarter and they’re not burying other teams? No, they’re better than people like that or or stuff like tell me the team that that is doing that right now every week. Now, maybe when we get to November and and someone’s got to roll. I don’t know if that’s the, you know, whatever the checkpoint is, but we’re still in week six of the season. Like, I don’t know. Is there a team that’s that’s absolutely rolling everyone every week? I you know, to me it’s a it’s a little bit of an unfair uh expectation to put on them to ask for not just the win, but the win with style points. But but but I respect it. And I don’t know, when you’re four and one and your only loss is to Philadelphia, I I tend to think you’re a better team than maybe just a team that’s just getting by. I mean, you watch them the eye test, Mike. You watch the Bucks. The Bucks, they’re a good team. Bucks. See, the problem is for the Bucks, too. And I know they had that close game against the Jets. People like Baker Mayfield now. So, you look at that game and like everybody says, “Well, that’s a loable game for us.” Yeah. So, that’s why they’re getting everybody’s best shot because you’re getting up for them. Yeah. That team’s pretty good. I like them.

Zolak and Bertrand asked Mike Reiss of ESPN what the Patriots’ ceiling is after their impressive win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.

Thumbnail photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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