“The Patriots are as good as anybody.”
I got the text about 20 minutes after the Patriots had stormed back from a 24-13 deficit to beat the Ravens on Sunday. It came from an assistant coach with over 20 years of NFL experience, and at least a couple of Super Bowl rings in a safety deposit box. His current team is one that will be playing playoff football this January, and for him to offer that comment unsolicited tells me a lot about where the Pats are and where they could be headed.
“The Patriots are as good as anybody.”
I had a hard time wrapping my head around this notion until about the halfway point of the season. There are holes on the roster, I opined, and those inside the organization I speak to regularly would dance around the word ‘rebuild’ while discussing the areas that needed to be addressed, both roster-wise and in the organization's overall infrastructure. In other words, saying it without saying.
Yet the wins this season have continued to pile up, and at some point, there was no denying that while the sum of this team is greater than its parts, dammit, some of the parts are ones that just about any other team in the league would want. That’s especially true of the quarterback, who, after completing his first fourth-quarter comeback and recording his first 300-yard passing game, has checked off just about every box there is to check...except for what Drake Maye will face in January. And let me tell you, the only reason I’d doubt it is because I haven't seen him do it. But I’d be surprised if Maye didn’t. That’s the kind of year this has been, and the kind of year he’s had.
“The Patriots are as good as anybody.”
We’re officially in “Why Not Us” territory for this team. The AFC is wide-ass open. The top-seeded 12-3 Broncos got whupped at home by the Jaguars, who are now 11-4, and I'm apologizing to them on social media for not taking them seriously enough (they don’t care). The 11-win Bills stormed back in Foxborough to overcome a 21-point deficit two Sundays ago, yet played with their food and damn near lost to the freakin’ Browns. The Chargers are also 11-4, but their offensive line (both of their elite tackles are lost for the season) has led to Justin Herbert getting hit at an unhealthy rate (he’s already playing with a broken hand). The Steelers are somehow going to win the AFC North, and Aaron Rodgers is actually playing well. The team I fear the most, the Texans, almost got upset by the Raiders, and there still seems to be something slightly amiss with their offense (the line and maybe the coordinator?).
I’ve been covering this league long enough to know that, well, that’s the league. This year, however, has been a little different, from the Chiefs' playoff run ending to the Ravens being unable (it seems) to dig out of a 1-5 hole to the Bengals losing Joe Burrow for 2.5 months and being the Bengals. Those teams, with elite quarterbacks, don’t miss the postseason, or at least not all of them at the same time. But here we are...
“The Patriots are as good as anybody.”
Indeed, they are.
BIG CHANGES IN BALTIMORE?
After blowing another double-digit fourth-quarter lead at home on Sunday night against the Patriots, the Ravens’ playoff hopes entered the not-so-on-life-support but pretty damn close.
Baltimore must win its final two games, beginning Saturday night against Green Bay, and hope that AFC North rival Pittsburgh loses out in order to steal the division. That seems unlikely, especially considering star quarterback Lamar Jackson is unlikely to play (more on that in a minute).
Meanwhile, there has been increased discontent with head coach John Harbaugh, who is on the verge of missing the postseason for just the third time in his 18 seasons in Charm City.
“Coaching at any level is a day-to-day job, and your job is to do the best job you can today, and to do everything you can to help your players and your coaches — if you’re a head coach — be the best they can be every single day,” Harbaugh said earlier this week, thanking the reporter for asking about his job security. “It’s never been about keeping a job, and there’s no such thing as ‘your’ job or ‘my’ job. We have responsibilities, and we’re given opportunities to steward those responsibilities, and you’re given a job to do that until you’re not.
“Anything after today, I’m not thinking about, because it’s not given for us to think about. We don’t have control over that, except for the job we do today. And if we do a good enough job today, then the opportunity to do that job or a different job will be there tomorrow, and that’s what you hope for.”
Harbaugh’s job has grown more complicated because of a recent column in the Baltimore Sun titled “Ravens, Lamar Jackson are at a crossroads.” The author, Mike Preston, explored the quarterback’s off-field habits, wondering whether he spends too many late nights playing video games and neglects his body. He reports that Jackson has fallen asleep in meetings and that the Ravens and Harbaugh have essentially adopted a different set of rules for their star, including moving practices to later in the afternoon.
“Once the Ravens become critical of Jackson,” Preston writes, “he becomes more withdrawn. It’s a shame because Jackson isn’t a mean-spirited person, just an overgrown kid in an adult’s body.”
This naturally revived questions about the relationship between Harbaugh and Jackson, as well as whether what was written was true.
"So, I don't know where that's coming from," Harbaugh said after Wednesday's practice. "I've never seen that ever. That's not something that I've ever witnessed, and I'm in every meeting."
"Our relationship is A-plus," he added. "So I love him. Always have, always will. And I know he's fighting like crazy to get back."
Jackson, who left the loss to the Patriots with a back contusion, is also entering a contract danger zone, and his negotiations with Baltimore have never been smooth. He has two years remaining on his current deal, with a base salary in excess of $51 million per season. Jackson’s salary cap hit skyrockets next year, exceeding $74 million, yet none of the cash is guaranteed. So it behooves the Ravens to extend him and lower the cap hit, but based on Preston’s information - someone in the organization wanted that out there - it does lead to some questions about what happens next. Could they actually move on from a two-time league MVP who very easily could have won a third last year (41 TDs, 4 INTs)? Stay tuned.
It should be noted that Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta don’t answer to each other; rather, they report directly to owner Steve Bisciotti. He will influence what happens next, both with Harbaugh remaining in power and Jackson’s future.
STEP BACK
One year after ripping through the regular season with a 15-2 record, the Lions lost both coordinators, Ben Johnson (Bears) and Aaron Glenn (Jets), to head coaching jobs. Several key staffers also departed with them. Some, including yours truly, wondered whether it would be too much to overcome. Turns out it was.
Detroit was officially eliminated from postseason contention on Christmas, turning the ball over a half-dozen times in Minnesota in a 23-10 defeat.
"Losing is very disappointing. Losing - I hate losing. They hate losing, we do," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "Look, I mean, some of these things that come up, it's - the effort's there, it's just, we're just a little off here, and it's costing us significantly. There again, too many turnovers, that's what really got us, man. Just couldn't overcome it."
The Lions hadn’t lost back-to-back games in three years. Yet Thursday’s defeat marked their third in a row, an illustration of just how a season full of challenges finally became too much to overcome. Countless critical injuries (both safeties, their best corner, and offensive line) stripped away some of their elite talent, and what remained wasn’t enough to save them.
“I’m probably more frustrated,” linebacker Jack Campbell told reporters. “Just because I know how much talent is on this team. But at the same time, we’ve just got to do it, and we’re not doing it. That’s the frustrating part.”
"It sucks," Jared Goff said. "We'll reflect on the whole season after next week, but yeah, it sucks."
The failings will be evaluated, but a quick turnaround is possible. If Detroit finishes last in the NFC North, it will benefit from a favorable schedule (three games against bottom dwellers). The division also plays the NFC South, which remains punchless. Plus, the Lions roster won’t face any major defections. Its best potential free agents are LB Alex Anzalone (age 31) and WR Khalif Raymond (31). So address the offensive line, add a player or two on defense, and the path back to the playoffs could be quick and relatively painless.
"I'm going to be looking at a lot. I'm going to be looking at a lot of things because I do not like being home for the playoffs," Campbell said. "And I know our guys don't either. And there again, whenever you lose, it takes a village. Everybody's involved, including myself. So, I'm always going to look at myself first.
“[General manager] Brad [Holmes] and I will have a lot of decisions to make. The whats, the whys, the how do we improve, because we need to improve.”
The Lions finish the season in Chicago.
PRO BOWL POPULARITY CONTEST
You may see Pro Bowl outrage on social media (if you dare live in that world) or in other publications or on TV. You will not see that here. Why? Because the whole thing is a sham.
Any time fan balloting heavily influences the process, you lose me. Now, before you go taking that as an insult, there are days on the calendar when if you “retweet” this post or that post, the player the post is linked to gets double the votes. I mean, what are we doing? This isn’t about who’s deserving. This is a popularity contest. And yet, some players have incentives tied to Pro Bowl selections and could lose out on real money. Josh Hines-Allen, the edge rusher for Jacksonville; Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love; Philly CB Cooper DeJean; and Miami LB Jordyn Brooks all had seasons worthy of a Pro Bowl nod but didn’t make it (at least not yet).
Then there’s what history tells us about some of the “luminaries” who have Pro Bowler on their resume. In 2022, Tyler Huntley, the backup in Baltimore, ended up representing the AFC despite starting just four games and throwing more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2). But when everyone and his brother passed on playing, Huntley got the call. How am I to take this process seriously when the league can’t even get the 4th, 5th, and 6th alternates to go?
Same thing for Mac Jones after his rookie year in 2021. He had a fine season, but Jones was the 7th highest rated signal caller by QBR in the AFC that year, trailing both Carson Wentz and Teddy Bridgewater. Drake Maye made it last year. We all watched the then-rookie have a hell of a time behind that offensive line, with those receivers, and in that system. Maye finished 11th amongst AFC passers in QBR. This year? Maye belongs. Last year, not so much.
“Yeah. I think, obviously, I was probably the last choice,” he joked with us earlier in the week. “They finally got somebody that would go. So, I went.”
At this point, the NFL has already dulled the prestige that came with the honor 15-20 years ago. I’m not sure they can put that genie back in the bottle. But they should also disallow incentives being written into contracts for something that isn’t about who performed the best, when a third of the vote comes down to who’s more popular. Here’s my vote - nuke the damn thing and call it a day.
NERD NUMBERS
- The Patriots are the 8th team in NFL history to win 12+ games in a season after having 4-or-fewer wins in the previous season (4-13 in 2024). 3 of the previous 7 made the Super Bowl (1-2 W-L)
- Maye has a higher completion percentage and has averaged more yards per pass attempt than Tom Brady did in any of his 3 MVP seasons for the Patriots (2007, 2010, 2017).
- Sam Darnold is the first QB in since 1950 to win at least 12 games in consecutive seasons with different teams (14-3 in 2024 with Vikings, 12-3 in 2025 with Seahawks). Brady (12-4 in 2019 with the Patriots, 11-5 in 2020 with the Buccaneers) is the only other QB to win even 11+ such games in back-to-back seasons with different teams. It always comes back to Tom, doesn’t it?
- Bryce Young leads the NFL with 12 game-winning drives since he entered the league in 2023. Only Justin Herbert (13) has more before their 25th birthday since 1950.
- Tetairoa McMillan leads all rookies with 924 receiving yards and 7 TDs in 2025. Leads rookie WRs with/ 65 rec (only TEs Harold Fannin Jr. and Tyler Warren have more).
- Trey McBride has 109 receptions (3rd in NFL), 1,098 yards (6th) & 10 TDs (T-3rd) in 2025. He’s the third player in Cardinals franchise history with 100+ rec, 1,000+ rec yards, and 10+ rec TD in a season (Larry Fitzgerald in 2005 and 2007), and also the third TE in NFL history to do so (Travis Kelce with 3 such seasons and Dallas Clark).
- Kenneth Gainwell is 1 of 5 players with 500+ rushing yards & 400+ receiving yards in 2025. Others: Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, and De’Von Achane.
- Trevor Lawrence has 2+ TDs and 100+ passer rating over each of his last 4 starts. He had exactly 0 games with 100+ passer rating in Weeks 1-12 (3 games with 2+ passing TD).
- Since Week 11, Baker Mayfield has a 72.6 passer rating (29th out of 31 qualified QBs in span). Only Shedeur Sanders (67.5) and Brady Cook (51.7) have worse ratings in that span. Mayfield also has 6 INT in the last 6 games (2 INT in the first 9 games of 2025).