Why Stephen A. Smith Views Patriots As NFL’s Second-Best Team

Stephen A. Smith no longer thinks of the Patriots as a hot football team that’s on the rise.

The ESPN pundit believes New England is the very best team in the AFC.

After a wild Week 11 that was in the NFL, Smith on Tuesday put together a power ranking of the league’s top five teams. The “First Take” co-host situated the Patriots at No. 2, with only the 9-2 Arizona Cardinals ahead of them.

“When you look at them right now and the way they’re flowing, Bill Belichick, he’s got a running game. Mac Jones, a rookie is ascending. He ain’t making mistakes,” Smith said. “They got one of the top two defenses in the National Football League. They’ve taken over first place in the AFC East. They’re coming, we can’t ignore it. We’ve got to pay attention to that.”

New England has a chance to actually sit atop the AFC late Sunday night. A Patriots win over the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium and a Baltimore Ravens home loss to the Cleveland Browns would shift Bill Belichick’s team to the No. 1 seed in the conference.