The Giants skilled it firsthand.
These aren’t the New England Patriots who went 4-13 in every of the final two seasons.
They’re not the Patriots who missed the playoffs three years in a row and parted methods with a head coach after two of them.
These Patriots are gone.
These Patriots are within the midst of a meteoric turnaround, abruptly in sole possession of the NFL’s greatest document (11-2) after ending with one of many league’s worst only a yr in the past.
The Pats hung 30 first-half factors on the Giants and by no means seemed again, cruising to a 33-15 victory in Foxborough, Mass., in entrance of a nationwide viewers on “Monday Night Football.”
How did the Patriots change their fortune so rapidly?
Listed below are a couple of causes:
DRAKE MAYE
That is the apparent one.
The Patriots struck gold after they took Maye with the No. 3 decide within the 2024 draft, securing a franchise quarterback after only some years in post-Brady QB purgatory.
The Giants needed Maye — badly — and had been prepared to half with a haul that featured two first-rounders, together with the No. 6 decide in 2024, to get him.
However Eliot Wolf, the Patriots’ government vp of participant personnel, determined to stay at No. 3 and take Maye.
Maye endured his rising pains as a rookie, and New England went simply 3-9 in his begins final yr.
However Maye has taken an enormous leap as an NFL sophomore, main the league in passing yards (3,412) and completion share (71.5%) whereas throwing for 23 touchdowns in opposition to simply six interceptions.
MIKE VRABEL
That is the opposite apparent one.
When the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo after just one season as head coach final winter, they honed in on Vrabel as his alternative.
Mayo was a first-year head coach, and it confirmed because the season wore on. However Vrabel — who received three Tremendous Bowls as a linebacker with the Pats — had already been a profitable HC with the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans went 54-45 throughout their 5 seasons underneath Vrabel from 2018-22; made the playoffs 3 times; completed higher than .500 4 occasions; and had been the AFC’s prime seed in 2021.
With Vrabel got here a profitable tradition.
“He talked about how he would walk into the team cafeteria when he first got here and it would be quiet, [players] would tense up a little bit. He didn’t like it and brought it to our attention,” Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis instructed ESPN not too long ago.
“He wanted everyone to be comfortable because you get the best out of everybody when they are not all tensed up and scared to make a mistake, on edge. I guess everybody kind of felt him in that moment. He’s the same way. It’s not like he’s saying something he’s not doing. He comes in and cracks jokes. He’s always on point on what’s going on.”
JOSH MCDANIELS
A lot of Vrabel’s genius stems from his capacity to place others in positions to succeed.
His hiring of McDaniels as offensive coordinator speaks to that, as Maye has thrived in McDaniels’ QB-friendly system.
Though the Patriots lack a real alpha-type No. 1 large receiver, McDaniels excels at scheming receivers open, and Maye has spoken about how a lot simpler that makes his job.
“He’s done it his whole life,” Maye stated of McDaniels in late October. “I feel like he’s put on this Earth to be an offensive coordinator, so it’s fun to be on the headset with him.”
McDaniels is in his third stint because the Patriots’ OC after spending a lot of the earlier two (2006-08 and 2012-2021) working with Brady.
DRAFT AND FREE AGENCY
Along with Maye, the Patriots largely hit on their premium draft picks throughout their down years.
Christian Gonzalez, the No. 17 decide within the 2023 draft, has was a shutdown cornerback.
Left sort out Will Campbell, who went No. 4 this yr, and left guard Jared Wilson, a third-rounder in the identical class, are each starters.
Second-round rookie operating again TreVeyon Henderson boasts six touchdowns and a team-high 625 speeding yards, whereas speedy receiver Kyle Williams, who went a spherical later, scored a 33-yard TD on Monday.
Kayshon Boutte, a 2023 sixth-rounder, additionally caught a landing Monday and has six receiving TDs on the season.
However the place the Patriots did the majority of their heavy lifting was in free company.
Throughout a big-money spending spree this previous offseason, the Patriots added Davis, receiver Stephon Diggs, defensive sort out Milton Williams, linebacker Robert Spillane, and offensive linemen Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury.
All have been contributors, notably on protection, which is Vrabel’s area. New England ranks seventh in complete protection (296.4 yards per recreation) and fifth in opponent scoring (18.5 factors per recreation).
SCHEDULE
For all of the Patriots have carried out proper of their rebuild, a few of this yr’s success might be chalked as much as good luck.
That’s as a result of the Patriots have the NFL’s best schedule, with their 17 opponents’ data presently combining for a profitable share of simply .369, in response to Tankathon.
For reference, the subsequent lowest power of schedule belongs to the Chicago Bears at .439.
The Patriots have confronted the Titans (1-11), Giants (2-11), New Orleans Saints (2-10), Las Vegas Raiders (2-10), Cleveland Browns (3-9), Jets (3-9), Falcons (4-8) and Cincinnati Bengals (4-8), who had been then with out Joe Burrow.
If the season ended at this time, that record would come with every of the groups selecting within the prime 5 within the NFL draft and three others within the prime 10.
The Patriots misplaced to the Raiders in Week 1, however after starting the yr 1-2, they’ve rattled off 10 straight wins.
Because the cliché goes, groups can solely play who’s on their schedule. The Patriots don’t have anything to apologize for, however there’s no denying the straightforward slate has been an element of their document being this good.
