Eric Decker believes the New England Patriots have what it takes to dethrone the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East. Following the conclusion of their Week 9 games, the Patriots are at the top of the AFC East with their 7-2 record, just a half-game ahead of the 6-2 Buffalo Bills. However, the Patriots also hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their 23-20 win over the Bills in Week 5.
While there's a lot of season left, it's clear that New England is for real in their first season under new head coach Mike Vrabel. Furthermore, second-year quarterback Drake Maye has drastically improved from his rookie season and has emerged as an MVP candidate. Maye has 17 touchdowns against just four interceptions with a league-best 74.1% completion rate.
Decker, who actually had a brief stint with New England in the 2018 preseason prior to retiring, says the Patriots have what it takes to dethrone the Bills, who have won five consecutive division titles in the Josh Allen era.
“Yeah, I do,” says Decker of the Patriots having what it takes to dethrone the Bills. “I do think they have a shot to definitely win the East. Buffalo, it feels like they came on last week, scoring a lot of points, and just got back to playing Buffalo football. It will be interesting. But New England is right there with them, so they have just as good a shot as Buffalo to take that title.”
The former eight-year veteran receiver says that a big reason for the Patriots' turnaround is the presence of Vrabel. The former Patriots linebacker is a proven head coach, having previously led the Tennessee Titans to an AFC Championship Game. However, it is a stark turnaround from a team that went 4-13 last season, one of the three worst records in the NFL last season.
“It starts at the the helm with Vrabel — I think he's a great coach,” Decker says of Vrabel. “He's well-respected amongst the players. He's been a player, he gets it. He's a great defensive mind. So to marry that with Drake Maye, who I do think is the real deal. He just seems to win and make the right decisions.”
Decker calls the Patriots a “scary” team due to their tradition and culture. With Vrabel at the helm, New England has the fourth-best defense in the NFL.
“I do think that they're a scary team because of the tradition that they've built over the last couple of decades, and now having Vrabel at the helm, who kind of is a physical, defensive-minded coach,” says Decker. “That's how you win championships, and that's how you go far in the playoffs.
He says it'll be interesting to see how Maye fares as the season progresses because most quarterbacks tend to hit a wall at the end of the regular season. The Patriots have a rather easy schedule at the end of the year, rounding out the season against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.
“It's going to be kind of fun to watch the rest of this race in a sense, and see what these younger quarterbacks do to finish up the season because that's when you kind of start hitting that wall,” says Decker. “Your first, second, third year is that Week 16, Week 17, Week 18 is when you it gets a little bit tougher because your body's been through months of just the mental, emotional drain that football brings. So excited to see how it finishes out.”
When asked exactly where he would rank the Patriots among the AFC contenders, he says that they're in the top three. The Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and Decker's other former team, the Denver Broncos, all have the top record at 7-2.
“I do think right now I would put them in the top three,” says Decker. “There's so many factors that go into the rest of the season, who stays the healthiest.”
