Christian Barmore perfectly sums up Patriots’ underdog mentality

Both led by a dominant offensive line and vaunted rushing attack, the New England Patriots‘ Saturday night showdown against the Indianapolis Colts has the potential to be one of the best games of the season.

Beyond their identities, these are two of the hottest teams in the NFL.The Colts are 7-3 over their last 10 games and have led by double digits in each of those contests, so they could easily be 10-0 during that stretch.

The Patriots, meanwhile, are the de facto hottest team in the league amid their seven-game winning streak, which makes it all the more crazy to think about how bleak their season looked after the first four games.

Their only win came against the hapless Jets and their losses included meltdowns at home vs the Dolphins and Saints, who, if matched up with the current version of the Patriots, would likely be double-digit underdogs.

So, how has New England kept chugging along? If you asked Christian Barmore, he’d tell you the team hasn’t forgotten its 2-4 record.

Christian Barmore’s latest quote proves the Patriots have embraced an underdog mentality.

Pre-2020 Patriots teams wouldn’t dream of being called underdogs.

With Tom Brady presiding over the offense and a multitude of defensive stars executing Bill Belichick’s system to a tee, fans had grown accustomed to New England being a perennial Super Bowl favorite.

The 2021 Patriots, however, have a completely different make-up. They have a rookie signal-caller in Mac Jones pulling the offensive strings. The Julian Edelman’s and Rob Gronkowski’s of the world have been replaced by lesser-named pass-catchers including Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Henry.

On the defensive side of the ball, the likes of Barmore, Matt Judon, JC Jackson and Kyle Dugger, none of whom are what you would call superstars, have taken the place of former household defensive studs like Ty Law, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork and Rodney Harrison.

So, yes, New England embracing an underdog mentality makes perfect sense. If you told us before the season that the Patriots would win 10 games and clinch one of the three Wild Card berths, we would’ve called it a successful year.

Well, here we are, just a little over a week before Christmas, and the Patriots control their own destiny in regard to finishing the year as the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Based on Barmore’s quote, this group is nowhere near satisfied.

Patriots players preached after their Week 6 loss to Brady’s Bucs that they weren’t a 2-4 team. Not only were they right, but they might have what it takes to represent what has proven to be an inconsistent AFC in this year’s Super Bowl.

One thing’s for certain, though, and that is New England hasn’t forgotten how many folks wrote them off after their 2-4 start.

That alone should terrify the rest of the NFL.

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