Patriots’ brilliant win over Jets won’t mean much if they can’t beat Chargers
The New York Jets are a bad football team, so what the New England Patriots proved on Sunday is that they are not a bad football team. New England beat New York twice in the first seven weeks of the season. In Week 7, the Patriots pummelled the Jets, 54-13.
If the Patriots made a statement with that win, it was something like: “We don’t stink.”
The Patriots tried running up the score. Maybe that was about proving to themselves — and others — that they’re a good team. But New England’s only wins are over the Houston Texans and the Jets. The Patriots are still unproven.
We already knew the Patriots weren’t bad. That much was already clear through the first six weeks. Maybe the Patriots were 2-4 heading into the game and are now 3-4, but their last two losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys narrow defeats against very good football teams. On one hand, the Patriots were competitive with the league’s best, which is always a good sign. On the other hand, those two losses indicated the Patriots weren’t a playoff-caliber football team — not yet.
The NFL season is long — a whopping 17 games this year. With quarterback Mac Jones developing in seemingly every game — and the offense, comprised of a handful of free-agent signings who are starting to gel — the Patriots have tremendous upside. It’s just that in order to make the postseason, New England would need to convert their potential into actual success. In other words, they need to start winning games.
So while the Patriots’ win over the Jets was a very impressive performance, New England is going to have to start beating the best teams in the league, rather than just bullying the worst ones.
That’s what should make the upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers so fascinating. New England can make a much more declarative statement against the Chargers (4-2), who have all the makings of a playoff team from quarterback Justin Herbert to coach Brandon Staley to safety Derwin James to defensive end Joey Bosa. With a win, the Patriots can show they’re ready to make a run for the playoffs.It’s hard to take the Patriots seriously if they can’t beat the Chargers. It’s hard to take the Patriots seriously if they can’t beat the Chargers.
A win over the Chargers only begins that long and longshot journey to the postseason. New England will need wins over other solid teams, like the Cleveland Browns, the Tennessee Titans and, of course, the Buffalo Bills.
The Chargers are the perfect measuring stick for the Patriots. New England needs to establish themselves with a win over a legitimate team.
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Winners and losers from Patriots' demolition of the Jets in Week 7
