The inconsistent performances of the Patriots so far this season made it easy for every analyst and most non-New England fans to rule them out way before they even stepped on the field against the Bills on Sunday Night Football.
The overall assumption was that a lot would need to go in the Patriots' favor for them to have even the slightest chance against the undefeated team, which has been universally named the most certain Super Bowl contender so far in 2025.
Although they made plenty of their own mistakes to make the job much more difficult than it needed to be, the Patriots accomplished the impossible and walked out of Buffalo with the win on Sunday, for all of the NFL universe to see on primetime.