COMMENTARY
The Patriots have made this easy.
The season-long search for the 2018 team’s character has been a frustrating uncertainty. This is a team, after all, that has beaten both teams seeded ahead of it (Chiefs, Texans) in the AFC playoff picture. It’s also a team that went just 3-5 on the road.
It’s an ambiguity that left some grasping at hopeful fruit just a few weeks back when the Patriots delivered their most-most-complete effort of the season during a 24-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Finally, perhaps, the New England Patriots were emerging back into the perennial force we assume them to be, shutting down one of the NFC’s top teams with a defensive effort that at least delivered encouragement.