"Can anybody beat the Patriots right now?!"
This is not the early 2000s, where the New England Patriots won three out of four Super Bowls, nor 2007 when they threatened to go the season undefeated. We thought Tom Brady's exit in 2020, after another successful streak of three rings in five years, had signalled a new era in the NFL - New England finished 7-9 last year without their leading man at quarterback, their first losing record in two decades.
Yet, as Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds poetically put it. it appears the 'Evil Empire' is back; the Patriots have won five-straight to sit at 7-4 on the season, comfortably in contention for not only a playoff spot in the AFC but maybe a division title, with two tussles against the East-leading Buffalo Bills (7-4) to come, and perhaps even a conference crown.