The New England Patriots have won four games in a row, have a reasonable schedule ahead, and are just now rounding into shape. CBS Sports has pegged them as a Wild Card team at a minimum. It's a reasonable assumption based on their 4-13 record from last season. But these are the new and improved New England Patriots, and their potential is far loftier.
The Patriots' owner, Bob Kraft, hired Mike Vrabel on January 12, 2025, and everything changed. Amateur hour was replaced by professionalism. Vrabel was brought in by Kraft to rebuild a moribund franchise that had fallen from the pinnacle of NFL success to a laughingstock in five years.