FOXBORO, Mass. — Holding court in front of his locker after New England routed the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Davon Godchaux made reference to a player who engineered many a Patriots blowout: Tom Brady.
He heard Brady’s recent comment about the parity in the NFL this season. In a news conference last week, the legendary quarterback chalked that up to “a lot of bad football” being played around the league.
Godchaux has a different view. The Patriots defensive tackle looks at the current NFL landscape — with just one undefeated club (Philadelphia) and no winless teams five weeks in — and sees opportunity.
“I was just laughing at Tom the other day,” Godchaux said after the Patriots pummeled the Lions 29-0 to improve to 2-3 on the season. “He made the joke about there’s a lot of bad football in the league. I wouldn’t say that, but there’s a lot of teams that are 2-3, 3-2. The Giants just beat the Packers (on Sunday). There’s a lot of football left, man. There’s what, 11 games left? We haven’t even gotten halfway through the season.”
Twelve games, to be precise, including a soft upcoming stretch that features matchups against the Jacoby Brissett-led Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and two against the New York Jets, plus New England’s bye week. The Patriots dropped three of four to open the season, but wins in three or four of those next five contests would put them squarely in playoff contention at Thanksgiving.
Twelve of the AFC’s 16 teams currently have either two or three victories, including the 3-1 Kansas City Chiefs, who host the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night. Only the AFC East favorite Buffalo Bills sit at 4-1, with the one-win Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers and Raiders lagging behind the pack.
“There’s a lot of people like, ‘Oh, we’re counting you guys out,'” said Godchaux, who had a hand in the first of New England’s six fourth-down stops against Detroit. “I don’t really care what anybody says, but how can you say that when there’s a lot of football left? There’s 11 games left. We’re 2-3, got a great opponent next week in the Cleveland Browns who are playing great football. It’s a long season. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of nine two- or three-win teams in the NFC. They held off the Atlanta Falcons 21-15 on Sunday to snap a two-game losing skid and move to 3-2.
