FOXBORO – You’re forgiven if you forgot what that looked like.
The Patriots cruising into halftime with a gigantic lead.
Their quarterback kicking his feet up early in the fourth quarter.
A smile spreading wide across the head coach’s face, with most of the game – hell, maybe all of it – going exactly to plan.
Before Sunday’s blowout of the Panthers, the Patriots hadn’t won a game like that since the last time they were a playoff team almost four years ago.
That day, the Pats stomped on the remains of the Urban Meyer Jaguars, 50-10, and in doing so clinched a postseason berth because they’d rebounded from a loss to Buffalo the week before in what was viewed as a measuring-stick game.
That same test now awaits them again in Western New York next weekend, when the entire league will be watching two old division rivals battle on Sunday Night Football.
So, are the Patriots a playoff team, too?
Far too early to tell. Obviously.
But what we know now, thanks to Sunday’s put-up-or-shut-up game, is these Pats have postseason potential.
No question.
No truly bad team wins games like Sunday’s, when Drake Maye had as many touchdowns as incompletions. Even Carolina’s 30-0 shutout of Atlanta last week didn’t feature the explosiveness and efficiency and three-phase dominance the Patriots demonstrated.
Consider all of their improvements.
The offense had zero turnovers, which means Maye had no turnovers. Maye, in fact, resisted the temptation to create something from nothing inside a closing pocket when he opted for a 0-yard sack in the third quarter instead of chasing an extended play and risking a turnover. Contrast that play with the fourth-quarter fumble he lost against the Steelers while standing in range of a go-ahead field goal.
The kid’s learning.
“If there’s nothing there, just try to live for the next play, live another day,” Maye said Sunday. “Just learn that, and I think it leads to good things.”
The Patriots also committed fewer penalties, getting flagged just four times after the first quarter.
They hit seven plays of 20 yards or more after entering Sunday with just eight on the season. Stefon Diggs accounted for two of them during his first 100-yard game as a Patriot; rust washing away.
Their defense tackled ball-carriers, and those ball-carriers went down. Inside linebacker and captain Robert Spillane, who missed more tackles than he made through the first two weeks, again led his defense with double-digit stops.
And how have we gotten this far without mentioning Marcus Jones?
That 5-foot-8 stick of dynamite simultaneously blew up one of the NFL’s best special teams units and the Pats’ history books with a franchise record 167 punt return yards. His touchdown in the first quarter jolted the Patriots awake after their offense and defense hit snooze on their respective opening series. What a player.
“Marcus Jones, can’t say enough about him,” Maye said. “Shoot, he’s the best in the game at it.”
Thanks to Jones, Maye, Diggs and everyone else, the Patriots are exactly where they should be: 2-2 after mostly slogging through a September schedule that opened with three straight toss-up games and a projected cakewalk against Carolina.
Some bad luck and worse mistakes cost them against Pittsburgh. A little good luck and a few clutch plays saved them in Miami. Like the Carolina win, beating the Dolphins hinted at signs of a franchise reborn, considering it was the first time the Patriots had survived in South Florida since 2019; the last time they were division champions.
Now, it’s on to Buffalo, home of the AFC East champs five years running. This season, the Bills are unbeaten. Josh Allen is the reigning MVP. And most see Buffalo as Super Bowl favorites in the AFC.
Through four games, the Patriots have proved enough to believe in themselves and head coach Mike Vrabel’s vision. There’s momentum here to begin closing the gap between who they are and who they could be; a Wild Card contender with a precocious young quarterback and aspirations beyond what their talent level would normally allow.
Now, it’s time to show the country.
Vrabel can already feel it.
“We have to prepare here for a division opponent on the road. It’s going to be a great environment,” he said Sunday, “and hopefully we’ll see where we’re at.”