Once Bill Belichick decided to bid his farewell to New England, NFL fans figured it would be a while, if ever, before they heard from the Patriots again. The franchise struggled to a 4-13 record in what was the first and only season of the Jerod Mayo era, and even though they had a shiny new quarterback in Drake Maye, it was clear that he would need both some time and some help before he could then begin to blossom.
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Nevertheless, here they are just one year later, enjoying a 10-game win streak and an 11-2 record while Maye continues to be the betting favorite to win the 2025 regular season MVP award. It’s one of the most impressive turnarounds that anyone can seem to remember, and according to the Patriots’ former tight end, Rob Gronkowski, the only word to describe it is “insane.”
“It’s remarkable to go from, I would say, the worst team in the league last year, if they had lost that last game versus the Bills, they would’ve had the first pick, so we’ll say the worst team in the NFL to the best team in the NFL. That turnaround is just unheard of and to just be able to pull it off, it shows that Vrabel is that good of a coach, that he was prepared to come in and ready to turn that program around.”
At this point in time, the only perceived threat to New England’s bid for the AFC’s one seed is the Denver Broncos. They are the only other team to secure 10+ wins prior to the start of Week 14, but Gronk doesn’t believe that they will be able to keep up with the Patriots for much longer.
“The Denver Broncos have a very tough schedule to finish the end of the year,” Gronk highlighted. He also suggested that, at worst, the Patriots will likely only lose one of their four remaining games.
That doesn’t leave the Broncos with much room for error, but then again, given the disparity between these two offenses, perhaps the Patriots are the clear favorites. After all, New England has out-gained Denver 4,714 to 4,090 in offensive scrimmage yards, and they’ve even produced 351 points to the Broncos’ 284.
The Patriots’ next two opponents, the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, are both a bit desperate for wins right now, so they shouldn’t be considered as gimmes by any means. Nevertheless, so long as they are able to survive both of them, then all that’s left for New England is a pair of divisional battles with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, two of the most favorable games that any team could ask for.
Suffice to say, it won’t be as easy as Gronk made it sound, but it certainly looks like the Patriots have the easiest path to the one seed of any team in the NFL right now.
