The New England Patriots aren't led by Bill Belichick or Tom Brady anymore but if a time traveler from 2007 glanced at the 2025-26 standings they'd certainly think that was still the case.
After thumping the New York Jets 27-14 in Week 11, New England is on to Cincinnati to face the Bengals who will be without multiple top playmakers.
Quarterback Joe Burrow has been dealing with a serious turf toe injury that's kept him out several weeks and now wideout Ja'Marr Chase will miss the Week 12 clash due to suspension. The four-time Pro Bowler was disciplined by the league for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey mid-game on Sunday.
That's a mighty lucky break for the Patriots who have seemingly not played many challenging opponents so far this year. It'll be one less serious threat for the New England secondary to worry about while on the road.
Patriots haters have all the ammunition they need ahead of Ja'Marr Chase-less clash with Bengals in Week 12
At 9-2, the Patriots top the AFC East division and are inching ever closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Their resurgence, which includes an eight-game winning streak, has come with the obvious return of the franchise's haters, claiming the Pats are overrated.
This time, those haters may have a point. Through 11 games, the Patriots have only played three teams that are currently in the playoff picture. They beat two of them, to be fair, but the rest of the schedule is rather lacking in serious competition.
Quarterback Drake Maye has benefitted from that schedule the most. His 2,836 passing yards lead the league and he's third in passing touchdowns (20). Playing against soft secondaries certainly helped in padding those stats.
They look poised to reach 11-2 by their Week 14 bye by way of a heavily handicapped Cincinnati team and a New York Giants squad that can't seem play more than three quarters of football.
By that time, with four games remaining, the Patriots may have clinched a playoff spot or will certainly be on the cusp. Two of those final games are against playoff contenders (Buffalo and Baltimore) but they finish the year off with rematches against the Jets and Miami Dolphins.
That means less than a third of New England's schedule was against playoff contending teams. If there's any argument to be made for an overrated team in the AFC, the Patriots fit the bill.