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The New England Patriots’ 35-29 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 was deflating for a team in search of a playoff spot.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are running away with the AFC East and the Patriots are now sitting with a 2-4 record. It feels like the right moment to give up playoff hope and start looking ahead to the future. But, CBS analyst Boomer Esiason isn’t quite ready to do that yet.
While joining WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Monday morning, he went into further detail on this.
“With a 17-game season, yes,” Esiason said. “I’m not off the bandwagon. I’m not. You guys can all quit on your team if you want. I’m not quitting on the Patriots.
“The reason I’m not doing that is because they have taken two of the best teams right to the end of the game. They’ve gone, as Bill Belichick said yesterday, toe-to-toe with one of the best offenses we’ve seen in the NFL. I’m telling you, when they start getting into other parts of their schedule against other teams that aren’t this good, they’ll rack up some wins. … This is a long, long year. I know it’s disappointing, but I’m still saying that I’m going to stick with them at this point.”
Mac Jones looked extremely impressive against the Cowboys and he was resilient even after he made a critical error.
“After Mac Jones throws the interception to Trevon Diggs that ends up in the end zone, there would have been an easy place right there to hang your head,” Esiason said. “But then he comes out, they run a double move, there’s a misplay by the safety, and he throws a touchdown pass.
“That moment there, and how that kid handled what had just transpired in the last 60 seconds, was all I need to know about whether that kid can be a pretty special quarterback. … The fact that he was able to do that at the end of the game showed me all I need to know about him as a long-term solution for the quarterback situation in New England.”
The Patriots have a long journey to the playoffs and the next challenge will be the New York Jets.
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