Over the first three weeks of the 2022 NFL season, the Patriots came off as a team more likely to secure a top-10 2023 draft pick than a postseason berth later this winter. Furthermore complicating matters for New England at that juncture was the serious ankle injury sustained by starting quarterback Mac Jones.
But as we head into Week 6 of the campaign, Dan Orlovsky suddenly is high on the Patriots. In fact, the NFL quarterback-turned-analyst believes Bill Belichick's team is one of the top contenders in the AFC.
Orlovsky on Thursday was asked to identify the biggest threat to the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. The 13-year veteran pointed to two main reasons why he believes it's the Patriots.
"I'm shocked I'm saying this. After five weeks, the New England Patriots," Orlovsky said on ESPN's "First Take." "No. 1, New England has one of the best inside run games in all of football. When they run the ball in between their two guards, they're as good as anybody in football. And they do it against really good teams. It's become their foundational identity. It makes things so much easier for their offense. Like, Jakobi Meyers is looking like a top-10 receiver at times because he's just getting easy matchups. DeVante Parker, the same thing. So their run game, specifically inside, has become such a big deal. I look at the Chiefs' game versus the Raiders the other night and go, well, the Raiders put the fullback on the field and ran the ball right down the Chiefs' throat. The same with Buffalo in regards to if you want to pound the rock on them.
"And then they got two stars on defense that are playing at an incredible level: (Matthew) Judon and Kyle Dugger. Kyle Dugger has asserted himself as one of the best back-seven players in football, in my opinion. I'm very interested by the New England Patriots right now from what I've seen over the past two weeks. Once Mac Jones gets healthy -- I mean, they hammered the No. 1 offense in football last week when it came to the Detroit Lions. Hammered them. I'm shocked to say it, but if I had to pick a team right now, it would be the Patriots."
Orlovsky has an opportunity to feel a lot better about his take over the next month, even if Jones isn't able to return Sunday in Cleveland. The next five opponents on the docket for New England are the Browns, Chicago Bears, Jets, Indianapolis Colts and New York again -- all very winnable games for the Patriots no matter who they have behind center.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Patriots are 40-1 at DraftKings to win the AFC, the fourth-longest odds in the conference. If New England runs roughshod in the aforementioned stretch, the number surely will shorten.
