Setting the Record Straight on the New England Patriots

Written By Alex Percey

In the days leading up to the Divisional round showdown between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans, the media consensus is that the Texans would beat the Patriots on Sunday. All five NFL Live anchors thought so, and so did the ESPN  pregame crew in a 3-1 majority. Even on Get Up, three of the four analysts picked the Texans. This was with Nico Collins already ruled out and the snowy forecast accounted for.

You would think that the “Schedule” comments and retorts would have slowed down as this matchup neared, but less than 24 hours before gametime, they reached a new high. When Bo Nix was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with an ankle injury, every user on X decided to use it against the Patriots.

As the sloppy mayhem of the Sunday afternoon game unfolded, the tweets of this sort became more and more frequent. It became clear that the Patriots would win the game, yet again by two scores, but nobody cared about the product on the field. Nobody cared that for the second straight week the New England defense locked down an opposing quarterback, forcing turnovers and standing strong at the goal line. Nobody cared that Drake Maye had another unbelievable deep touchdown pass down the sideline, one of the best in playoff history. Nobody cared because nobody wanted to, because it’s the Patriots. After all, greatness attracts jealousy.

Drake Maye tied the record for wins by a quarterback in their first or second season with the win on Sunday. He was the first quarterback this season to throw three touchdowns against the Texans’ defense. The Patriots won their second straight playoff game by double-digit points, both against top-5 defenses that most analysts believed would suffocate the Patriots’ offense. And don’t get me started on the defensive performance. The Patriots’ record with both Christian Gonzalez and Milton Williams on the field this season improved to 16-0. That’s right, 16-0! When healthy, it’s an undisputed top-5 unit in the league, just one year removed from being a bottom-feeder.

Those stats will be confined to Patriots Twitter, while narratives about an “easy schedule”, “cakewalk”, and “Drake Maye disaster” flood the airways. As soon as the Patriots beat the formidable Texans, the Texans who were supposed to beat them, Houston becomes just another “easy opponent” they’ve taken down.

No matter what happens next week, it can’t end favorably for the Patriots’ narrative. Either they win against a backup quarterback who is 1-3 in his career, reaching the Super Bowl thanks to crucial injuries for their opponents, or they lose embarrassingly to that backup.

While it seems like I’m angry with the media and the narratives surrounding this historic season, the truth is I really don’t care that much when I’m watching on Sundays. Yes, I’d prefer for the team to get its flowers, and for arguments to at least be reasonable; that’s why I wrote this article. However, we Patriots fans don’t need others to define greatness for us because we’ve seen it before. Older fans than I remember seeing another second-year quarterback have a similar run, taking down top defenses en route to a Super Bowl matchup with a favored NFC West opponent.

If they make it to the big game, the Patriots will be the first team to beat three top-five defenses by yards allowed in one playoff run (PFR). Drake Maye will already have more playoff wins than Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, and Trevor Lawrence.

The Patriots are the only team that is undefeated on the road this season, and that’s not going to change this weekend. What will the haters say when the New England Patriots are heading to the Super Bowl for the 10th time this century? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Alex Percey
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