Still Doubting Patriots As Contender? Rich Eisen Has Message For You

The New England Patriots are looking like the best team in the AFC, and Rich Eisen believes it’s impossible to ignore.

After dropping to 2-4 on the season, it looked like Bill Belichick’s team was bound for a second consecutive underwhelming campaign. But the Patriots started to take off in Week 7 and they’ve yet to look back, and they’re now eerily close to the top seed in the conference.

A lengthy win streak is impressive any way you slice it, but Eisen on Monday noted how the Patriots aren’t on an ordinary run.

“Over their five-game winning streak, they led the league in points per game and have led the league in (fewest) points allowed per game,” Eisen said on his self-titled program, as transcribed by Boston.com. “So they were winning games on average of 35-10, because they’ve averaged 35 points per game in the five-game win streak, and then allowed only 10 points per game in the five-game win streak.”

What’s been the difference for the Patriots over that span? For starters, they’ve been playing a very clean brand of football, something all great Belichick-coached teams have done dating back to 2000.

“That’s the Belichick way of playing, and that’s the Belichick-championship way of playing, and that’s the way these Patriots are playing football right now,” Eisen said.

As for the Patriots’ status as the top team in the AFC, Eisen apparently doesn’t need to see anymore.

“I’m telling you, folks. It’s staring you right in the face,” Eisen said. “If you don’t believe it, you need to.”

New England can strengthen Eisen’s argument Monday night with a road win over the Buffalo Bills.