The Patriots' recent win streak has prompted football fans and media members alike to start taking New England very seriously.
Peter King certainly is of that company.
During an appearance Tuesday on WEEI's "Gresh & Keefe," the NBC Sports scribe hailed the Patriots as not only one of the best AFC teams, but one of the best clubs in all of football.
"This is not flukey at all," King said, as transcribed by WEEI. "This is a really, really good team -- a top-five team in the NFL right now."
Furthermore, King believes the AFC is totally up for grabs and that the Patriots are right in the thick of it.
"It's absolutely wide open," King said. "I think right now, if you put Tennessee, Buffalo and New England in a hat, maybe Baltimore, and you shook it up and you picked one, I think anyone would be a logical best team right now. Again, that's why they play the games. That's why there's eight weeks and for more teams, seven games left, or however it works out."
The next month-plus will dictate whether New England actually is for real. After Thursday's tilt with the Atlanta Falcons, the Patriots' next four opponents all are AFC playoff-hopeful teams: the Tennessee Titans, the Buffalo Bills (twice) and the Indianapolis Colts.
