#new-england-patriots

#new-england-patriots

It would've been easy for the Patriots to fall into a trap game against an inferior opponent after a big Week 5 victory over the Buffalo Bills, but Mike Vrabel didn't let it happen. New England took care of the New Orleans Saints, and although it was ugly at times, the 25-19 victory represented that the Patriots' mental toughness is getting stronger.

'I've got a tough enough job to coach this football team,' Vrabel said with a chuckle. 'There's not much. It becomes comical at a point.'

The New England Patriots (4-2) are officially off to their best start since 2019, when Tom Brady was still their quarterback. Drake Maye is playing with the consistency of a legitimate MVP candidate right now, and the attention flowing his way is about as expected as it is deserved. The Patriots' defense, however, might not be getting the credit it deserves for what is now a three-game winning streak.

Kayshon Boutte was among the loudest voices who consistently expressed his displeasure with the team and even the coaching during the year, and he wasn't often wrong. but didn't have the best awareness of when it was appropriate to air some dirty laundry. He often complained about his lack of usage on offense, which isn't entirely unheard of with wide receivers, so there wasn't much made of it.

The New England Patriots advanced to 3-2 after their massive win against the Bills, and the next few weeks are against some of the worst teams in football. They'll face off against the Spencer Rattler-led Saints on Sunday, who score 18.4 points per game. They then play the two worst offenses in football, both led by rookies: the Cam Ward-led Titans and the Dillon Gabriel-led Browns are tied, scoring just 14.6 points per game through the first five weeks.

There were plenty of things the Patriots could use as motivation going into their Week 5 matchup against the Bills, as they were considered major underdogs going against what would be the final undefeated team of the season. That was reportedly all the motivation they needed, especially when reporters responded to questions about their predictions for the game with certainty about a Bills win. But that's apparently not the only part of the week that the players used as bulletin board material.