The New England Patriots entered Sunday tied with the Cleveland Browns for the final wild card berth in the AFC. Both teams sat at 5-4. This was supposed to be one of the most competitive and interesting games of the day Sunday. That did not come to fruition as the Patriots drubbed the Browns 45-7.

Both teams are very similar to each other. Their offenses are two of the most-run heavy schemes in the NFL and neither ask their quarterbacks to do too much. Both teams play very well defensively and were among the league leaders in points and yards allowed.

However, after the game, the Patriots look and feel like a playoff team and the Browns look lost.

New England Patriots Week 10 Takeaways vs. Cleveland Browns

3. The AFC East race is very much alive

A lot of people penciled in the Buffalo Bills as the AFC East champions weeks ago. However, following the win Sunday, the Patriots are 6-4 and riding a four game winning streak. They sit only a half game behind the Bills, who defeated the New York Jets 45-17 to improve to 6-3.

These two teams have yet to play this season. They will meet in Buffalo in Week 14, and then again in New England two weeks later.

More than likely, if one of these teams sweeps those two games, they will win the division. If they split the two games, the first tie-breaker would be divisional record. Currently, Buffalo is 3-0 in the division. New England is 2-1. New England's Week 1 loss to Miami could come back to haunt them.

But by no means is this division over. Bill Belichick typically gives fits to young quarterbacks and Josh Allen is still young. He has shown he can struggle against good defenses. Just ask Josh Allen of the Jaguars. Don't forget, over the last two decades no team has beaten another more than the New England Patriots have beaten the Buffalo Bills.

2. The Patriots defense is better than most realized

Following another impressive win Sunday, the Patriots defense has now moved to 2nd in the NFL in points allowed. They are giving up only 17.2 points per game this season. The Patriots defense also takes the ball away. Through 10 games, they have 17 takeaways, which is top five in the league.

If someone tried to claim a soft schedule with two games so far vs the lowly New York Jets and a game against the Miami Dolphins, one could easily shoot back with some of their other opponents.

They held Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offense to 19 points, almost pulling out an upset win. They held the Los Angeles Chargers to 24 in a victory a couple of weeks ago.

The offseason acquisition of linebacker Matthew Judon was one of the bigger moves that no one has talked about. Judon is 3rd in the NFL with nine sacks.

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New England also got a bunch of players back who opted out of playing the previous season because of COVID. That includes Pro Bowler Donta' Hightower. J.C. Jackson is having an outstanding year at cornerback and the signing of DB Jalen Mills has proved very fruitful.

Quietly, Bill Belichick has got this defense humming and seemingly getting better every week.

1. Mac Jones is head shoulders the best QB in his draft class

The New England Patriots drafted Mac Jones 15th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. That was the fifth quarterback taken off the board.

Prior to that, the Jacksonville Jaguars took Trevor Lawrence. The New York Jets took Zach Wilson. The San Francisco 49ers took Trey Lance and the Chicago Bears drafted Justin Fields.

Meanwhile, Belichick and the Patriots sat there and watched Mac Jones fall to them. The book on him said he didn't have the strongest arm, but that he had a quick release, was very smart and very accurate. Who does that remind you of?

Through 10 games, Mac Jones is already well ahead of the expected progress and has the Patriots looking like a playoff team. He is completing 69% of his passes, among the league leaders. He also has cut down on the turnovers which he struggled with his first few games.

It certainly helps when you have one of the best running games in the NFL on your side. It also helps when you have a defense led by Bill Belichick.

But at this point, there is no argument as to who the best quarterback has been in this draft class. Lawrence still has plenty of time to prove himself and is working with a lot less. Lance and Fields have not had much playing time and the jury is out. But Jones has shown already he can play.

What's scary for the rest of the NFL is that if he is doing this in his rookie season, what happens as he matures and New England adds more weapons around him.