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.

Not a bad day to be a tight end on this past Sunday of all Sundays, and there were a ton of great performances, none, however, better than Green Bay's Tucker Kraft, who went nuclear in Pittsburgh, but guys like rookies Oronde Gadsen and Harold Fannin, vets like George Kittle and Kyle Pitts, and a ton more.

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.

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.

The Miracle on Ice, Appalachian State beating No. 2 Michigan, the New England Patriots winning in Miami, Florida (2025), and UMBC beating Arizona as a March Madness 16 seed. These are just some of the many great upset moments in sports that remind us that the indomitable human spirit can overcome anything and that anything is possible.

Over the last seven or eight years, Week 1 has been a mixed bag for the Patriots, but no matter who has headed the sidelines, been the top dog under center, or played on defense, home openers have been a major struggle for this team during the same timeframe. Going into Mike Vrabel's first-ever regular season game coaching the team he played eight seasons for, New England has dropped their last four home openers, as well as five of their previous eight.

The phrase, "taking advantage of bad football," was something everyone gravitated towards in Vrabel's opening presser, and simply looking at the Patriots' schedule, those opportunities should be there.

They had the money to bring a guy like Williams in and took no chances.

You can't come off the bye week and look this bad, and Pierce understands this; he is very realistic, but things must change.

Mac Jones borderline looks broken beyond repair, injuries have turned this defense from one of the NFL's best to a middling unit, and...