Both Matt Stafford and Drake Maye have compelling and good arguments for this year's MVP award, and regardless of the borderline insane #discourse that's arisen in this debate nationally the last several weeks on either side of the fence, either would be a good winner.

Not a particularly long day for the first-team Patriots offense, but Maye's 256 yards and five TDs on just 24 dropbacks were one of the best EPA starts a quarterback has had in the last decade, and his 157 passer rating only trails the perfect 158.3 mark Jalen Hurts put up back in Week 7.

Still no Joe Burrow, who's back practicing but not ready to return after a Week 2 turf toe injury. Additionally, in worse news is that they'll also be without Ja'Marr Chase, as he's been suspended for spitting on Steelers' corner Jalen Ramsey, and without last season's sack leader, Trey Hendrickson...

As far as the simple things in life go, beating the Jets is either right at or very close to the top of said things.

The Patriots haven't been super gung-ho with the PA game outside of the Buffalo and Pittsburgh game, but I think there could be some massive opportunities for Drake Maye on that front with the missing pieces on the other side of the ball.

Even still, this game was ultimately determined by big plays, and simply put, the Patriots had a ton of them. Both of TreVeyon Henderson's 50-plus yard touchdown runs, Kyle Williams 73 73-yard catch and run score, and even a fourth-and-goal Stefon Diggs touchdown with next to no time remaining in the first half.

Hard to overstate how big this Sunday is for the New England Patriots. Chance to take sole possession of the AFC's No. 1 seed right before a TNF game, a chance for the season sweep vs. the NFC South, and a chance to really cement home the fact that this is a tough team to deal with on the road by winning five in a row away from Foxborough in 2025.

There hadn't been an "ugly win" to this point in the season for the New England Patriots, but that's probably the best way to describe their one-point victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

A week after the Patriots trounced the top-flight defense of the Cleveland Browns, they now welcome the final remaining top 10 defense on their schedule tomorrow in the form of the Atlanta Falcons.

Please do not take this kid and what he's doing this year for granted. Drake Maye is legitimately having one of the best, if not the best, seasons of any QB in the league through eight weeks.

More or less, yesterday's Patriots win over the Tennessee Titans went just about according to plan. They settled in after a trio of scoring drives by Cam Ward and co., and cruised on with a 31 point afternoon and now find themselves on their first four game win streak in nearly four years, and as the two seed in the AFC behind Indianapolis. Not only did Drake Maye dazzle once again, but the running game, yes, the running game, was gigantic in this win, with Rhamondre Stevenso

There could not have been a funnier weekend for the Patriots and Mike Vrabel to head down to Nashville and take on the Titans.

Maye wound up 3-of-4 on throws 20-plus air yards downfield for three TDs and 107 yards, and had an earlier TD, and then a later 50-plus yard third down throw was wiped off due to very suspect penalties. Not the MVP front-runner, but Maye is absolutely in contention after six weeks.

Even with some beyond atrocious officiating, however, this was nowhere near a "great" team performance, in that the offense stalled for a chunk of the second half, the aforementioned run offense had maybe its worst game of the season, and the Patriots' defense, while not bad on the whole, did give up some bad plays in this one.

Off the most significant win this team has achived this decade, the New England Patriots find themselves set to embark on what, at a visual glance, appears to be a relatively easy stretch of games. Between this weekend and their Week 14 Bye, the combined record of their opponents is 13-27, featuring five times currently dead last in their divisions, and the only division leader they're scheduled to play over this period is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.

Ending with no TDs is a little bit of a shame since Maye was legitimately flawless otherwise, but he made no shortage of winning plays, and if you rate this as his definitive career outing, I don't blame you in the slightest. He was absolutely unfazed in one of the toughest road environments in the league, and the Bills had no answers for him.

A very weird feeling knowing this is the final ever primetime game slated for Ralph Wilson Stadium, barring any late-season schedule adjustments. Very fun game to go out on if so, and one that I think goes down to the end.

One play will never win or lose you a game in pro sports, but one can always be the start of something big, and in football, that can especially apply on the special teams front.

Even on a day where the Patriots' defense was mostly solid and consistently was able to bail out a Patriots offense that committed five turnovers (four fumbles, one pick), the offense was the "bad football to take advantage of" talked about all offseason in its final form for at least one afternoon.

Fresh off a huge win down in Miami for the first time since 2019, the Patriots are throwing it back for a weekend to honor Julien Edelman and (regrettably) Bill Parcells by inducting them into the Patriots Hall of Fame, and then hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers 24 hours later. Their AFC North foe is coming off a brutal fourth-quarter collapse against the Seattle Seahawks, and worse than that, is going to be down multiple starters on the defensive side of the ball tomorrow.