National Football League

New England Patriots look like playoff contenders once again

Updated Nov. 2, 2021 2:27 p.m. ET

The New England Patriots sit squarely on the bubble in the NFL's developing playoff picture.

Per the league's official website, New England would be the first team out in the AFC if the regular season were to end today. The good news for Bill Belichick and crew is that we're only nearing the halfway point of the league's new 17-week slate.

If we've learned one thing about Belichick through his Hall of Fame-caliber career, it's that he should never be counted out. His six Super Bowl titles are certainly evidence of that.

And the Pats' most recent victory — a 27-24 upset of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday — proves that as well.

According to FOX Bet, the Chargers entered the matchup as -213 favorites to win. The experts also made the Pats four-point underdogs.

They were wrong about the matchup of young QBs at SoFi Stadium.

Mac Jones is beginning to develop into the quintessential QB for Josh McDaniels' scheme, with the rookie QB getting more comfortable each week.

And with that, Colin Cowherd thinks that another postseason appearance is a strong possibility for the Pats.

"Bill Belichick and the Patriots look pretty good again," Cowherd said nonchalantly on "The Herd."

Cowherd's tone spoke to the excellence that has followed the Patriots through the past 20 years.

"They had almost 20 more plays than the Chargers on the road. They ran for almost 150 yards, dominated time of possession," Cowherd said.

"They had almost no penalties, hung with Tampa, Dallas, and their next four games are a lot of layups: Carolina, messy Cleveland, inefficient Atlanta, and Tennessee without Derrick Henry. [Sunday], their coaching was A+, O-line/run game, solid A, special teams, Nick Folk doesn't miss."

But while they're superb in a number of facets, Cowherd did acknowledge their deficiencies in one prominent category.

"All they're missing is a deep threat," he said. "[Like] OBJ or DeSean Jackson. I would strongly look at them. New England's defense is championship [caliber]. Its head coach is … the coordinator, the special teams, the run game, the offensive line. They just need a vertical option, and this is a team you want no business with in the playoffs. They give young quarterbacks problems, and that's a lot of the AFC."

FOX Sports' Kevin Wildes echoed Cowherd's comments.

"Mac Jones says, ‘You know what? I can go up against a great defense,'" Wildes said on "First Things First." "'I can go toe-to-toe with Dak Prescott and Tom Brady. And I can air it out.' Mac Jones [doesn't] just do dink and dunks. He's airing that thing out."

The numbers support Wildes' claim.

On attempts of 20 yards or more, Jones has improved to a 7-for-12 clip in Weeks 6-8, up from 4-for-20 in the first five games. He has two TDs, and his passer rating has swelled 135 points on deep throws.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide signal-caller leads all rookies in passing TDs (nine), completions (192) and completion percentage (68.1). He's also third in the league in completions (192), behind Tom Brady and Jared Goff.

His team, meanwhile, is 4-1 vs. AFC teams, and sixth in the conference in both scoring (25.8 PPG) and third-down conversions (44.9). The Pats' defense is tied for fifth in interceptions (10).

The biggest key, though, might be that Belichick is still their head coach.

Don't look now, but something big could be brewing in New England. Does the rest of the AFC have the firepower to quell it?