Pundit Doubles Down On Patriots Take After Week 11 Win

A prominent TV personality once again touted the New England Patriots as a legiitmate contender following their eighth straight win.

Earlier this week, Nick Wright placed the Patriots in his top AFC tier alongside the Kansas City Chiefs. The FS1 star felt the same way after watching New England earn a 27-14 victory over the New York Jets on “Thursday Night Football.”

While Wright still won’t pick the Pats over his beloved Chiefs despite a 5-4 start, he predicted that the conference will go through Foxborough on Friday’s “First Things First.”

“They are going to be the one seed in the AFC, I believe,” Wright said. “But that’s conjecture, obviously. What I know is, for me, I will pick them to win any AFC playoff game they play, except for against the Kansas City Chiefs. I think they are legitimately, right now, the second-best team in the AFC. I really do believe that.”

Wright declared that he’d take Drake Maye over any NFL quarterback younger than Patrick Mahomes (30), Josh Allen (29) and Lamar Jackson.

“He’s that guy,” Wright said of Maye.

The Patriots have only played three games against teams (Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) who entered Week 11 with a winning record, but Wright isn’t dismissing their 9-2 start under head coach Mike Vrabel.

“I don’t think it’s just a product of the schedule,” Wright said. “I think when you have a coach as sharp as Vrabel … That, plus a quarterback that’s just getting better, without a glaring weakness on the team. I do believe (New England) is the second-best team in the conference.”