After it felt like the sky was falling in Foxboro a few weeks ago, the Patriots suddenly have some life.
New England halted its losing streak at four in Week 9 with a last-second win over the New York Jets. The Patriots then responded with their best performance of the season to date in an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Pats now sit at 4-5 on the campaign, which, of course, isn’t a stellar record. But after the win over the Ravens, Cam Newton suggested New England is a better team than its record indicates.
NFL center-turned-analyst Jeff Saturday, for one, wasn’t crazy about this sentiment from the Patriots’ starting quarterback.
“…I don’t love Cam talking about, ‘We’re better than our record,’ or however he says that kind of thing,” Saturday said Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “The truth is, you are what you are, right? Like, it is what it is. Your record is what you’ve played to. But they do have the capability because of coaching to play better than we all anticipated and I think they have.”
It’s tough to get on Newton too much for the remark. The 2015 NFL MVP has maintained optimism throughout his first season in New England, including in the midst of the Patriots’ skid and his own on-field struggles. Newton’s coaches also have been highly complimentary of the signal-caller’s leadership.
Newton’s comment could end up proving to be correct as well. We’ll start to find out beginning Sunday when the Patriots visit the Houston Texans.
