The New England Patriots were one game away from hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy last season. They made big strides and acquired blue-chip reinforcements in the offseason, yet they're not getting any love.
The critics continue to cite the team's favorable schedule from last season as the primary reason for regression, as if they didn't have Mike Vrabel on the sidelines and an up-and-coming Drake Maye fresh off an MVP-caliber season.
The Patriots enter the preseason ranked No. 12 in NFL.com's power rankings. Not only is that disrespectfully low for a Super Bowl runner-up bringing back most of its core, but it's also below some teams that have no business receiving better grades.
Patriots disrespect reaches all-time high in preseason power rankings
Just for the sake of the argument, let's ride with the narrative that the Patriots aren't a top-five team in the league right now. The list has the Los Angeles Rams (fair), Denver Broncos (questionable), Seattle Seahawks (defending champions), Philadelphia Eagles (who didn't get better), and Buffalo Bills (serial underperformers) in the top five spots.
Again, just for the sake of argument, let's say all of those teams are better than the Pats. But having them ranked below the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys is just flat-out comical.
Yes, we're talking about the same Bengals who haven't been to the playoffs since 2022 and the Cowboys who fielded a historically bad defense last season. The same Ravens who fired their head coach and can't get out of their own way in the playoffs.
To be fair, the Jaguars, Texans, and Bears are solid teams coming off a good season, but it still doesn't add up.
For way too long, the Patriots held the AFC in a chokehold, and that grasp on the rest of the league still stings. That's the only logical explanation as to why everybody's counting out a team that's oozing with talent and fresh off a Super Bowl trip.
We've heard it all. The Super Bowl hangover real, and they certainly wouldn't be the first team to regress after a strong season with an easy schedule. But to have them outside of the top-10 after making the Super Bowl, with the offseason they had, just feels personal.
God forbid the Patriots don't hit the ground running and demolish their preseason opponents. They'll be talking about off-the-field distractions and how Coach Vrabel should be on the hot seat before the regular season even starts.
If anything, this team should keep the receipts and use them all as bulletin-board material to get back on track and silence the naysayers in 2026. It'll certainly be hilarious to look back on the rankings and hot takes at the end of the season and see if everyone keeps the same energy once it's all said and done.
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