There was a time this season, only weeks ago, when teams stopped fearing the Patriots.
Privately, even as the Patriots kept winning, and even as their defense became one of the most dominant in the sport, some assistant coaches, in both conferences, spoke about how they and their players were no longer afraid of New England.
Make no mistake...every team was scared of them in the past—well, except for maybe the two Giants teams that beat them in the Super Bowl. Or that Super Bowl Eagles team. But everyone else?