National Football League

Have the streaking New England Patriots rediscovered their Super Bowl formula?

Updated Nov. 19, 2021 5:36 p.m. ET

The New England Patriots are on a roll.

Since dropping a thrilling overtime game against Dallas on Oct. 17, New England has churned out five straight victories, with four of them coming by double-digits. The Patriots have held each of their last three opponents to fewer than eight points, including a shutout of the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.

It gets even better for Bill Belichick's crew.

The 25-0 drubbing of Atlanta encompasses seven straight scoreless quarters by the Pats' defense. In fact, the Pats haven't allowed their opponents to score on any of their last 19 drives. During this five-game winning streak, New England is outscoring its opponents 175-50.

The point is, this unit is irrepressible right now, and its spurt has the football world wondering if it will be able to preserve it into the postseason — and perhaps even all the way to the Super Bowl.

Patriots' defense dominates Falcons

The New England Patriots cruised to an easy victory on Thursday Night Football, with help from the defense tallying four sacks and interceptions.

"This would be too Hollywood," Shannon Sharpe said Friday on "Undisputed," regarding the potential championship matchup between Mac Jones and former Patriots QB Tom Brady of the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "I'm going to say [the chances are] 5%. I don't want to put a whole lot of stock into last night. The Falcons are bad. I'm glad the world got an opportunity to see that. Matt Ryan didn't have 200 yards of total offense last night. And they had four interceptions."

Sharpe wasn't completely focused on the Falcons' faults in the affair, though. He had praise for the Pats role in the dominant outing, too.

"Coach Belichick has the Patriots playing really well right now," he admitted.

"We know this about his teams: They always get better. Late October, heading into November and December, is when they start playing their best football. This is where the really good teams separate themselves. [Belichick] says, ‘look, I'm not a fast horse, I'm a steady horse, and I want to steadily build.'"

Nick Wright focused his praise on the Patriots' defense.

"Does anyone believe that if Mac Jones and Matt Ryan switched teams before the game, the result would've been any different?" Wright questioned on Friday's episode of "First Things First." "If anything, if the Patriots would've had a QB that the one time he threw it downfield — didn't get it picked off, or that Bill Belichick trusted enough to throw the ball on third-and-4, they probably would've scored more than one offensive TD."

Nick Wright: The Patriots' win over the Falcons wasn't about Mac Jones

Are we giving Mac Jones too much credit after the New England Patriots shut out the Atlanta Falcons 25-0. Nick Wright thinks so.

But Chris Broussard opined that Belichick utilizes Jones in a way that is exactly what they need.

"That is a Super Bowl-caliber defense," Broussard said. "I'm not saying they're the best defense in the league, but it is a defense that I think is good enough to be a Super Bowl defense."

For Kevin Wildes, the formula is already is in place for another dynastic run in New England.

"Here's what's in the dynasty casserole," Wildes stated as he laid out the team's winning recipe on the show. "GOAT coach, and a GOAT GM. Great special teams. Nick Folk has yet to miss a field goal under 50 yards. Great defense, three games, a total of 13 points. And then finally, the important ingredient is a reliable, steady smart quarterback. And guess what. [They've] got one."

Colin Cowherd didn't necessarily predict another dynasty, but he's not putting a potential Bucs-Pats Super Bowl off the table.

"Who has the best coach, best defense, special teams, is top-five in sacks, run game, a top-10 offensive coordinator? Check, check, check, New England," Cowherd said Friday on "The Herd."

"Belichick's done this before [in 2001]. Gangly, not very athletic, can't do anything off-script. Let's put up Brady and Jones' first 11 starts. Oh look, they're identical. That team had the sixth-rated offense and sixth-rated defense. This team has the sixth-rated defense and second-rated offense."

Should the Patriots are able to find a route over the hump, it will likely be their defense that carries them.

The squad's four INTs Thursday upped its total to 18, which is tops in the league. It has a +70 points differential in the fourth quarter this season (best in the NFL), while managing to go 5-0 on the road.

And Jones isn't too shabby either.

He now holds the record for the most wins collected by a Pats rookie QB with seven (Jim Plunkett held the previous record with six), and his 70.2% completion percentage will be the highest ever for a rookie QB (minimum 100 pass attempts) if it holds.

Does this team have the stuff of a championship group? Their upcoming stretch of games — vs. Titans, Bills (twice) and Colts — might provide a better answer.