You should be impressed
But, how many times have we said almost just that about an opponent.
Oh, it's just the Cardinals, it's just the Seahawks, it's just the Jets.
Don't fool yourself, if we've learned anything this year it's that you shouldn't take winning for granted. The Patriots not only won, they rolled. They played their most complete game of the year. Aside from the fist 2:35, the Patriots played a complete game on both sides of the ball.
The defense shut the Rams down, without even relying on turnovers as they've done in the past. The Patriots offense only allowed Zoltan Mesko to put two times. His first punt coming with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
Have the Patriots turned a corner? That's not something we can say yet. However, we can look at all of the facts.
Despite all of their struggles and injuries, the Patriots sit with the exact same record they did through eight games last year, 5-3.
Is it time to take our fingers off the panic button? Patriots fans were just about furiously pounding it after a shaky overtime win over the Jets. However, this Patriots team is not that far off from where they need to be.
Just like we shouldn't have overreacted to all the losses, we shouldn't overreact to this win either. Still, it was something very refreshing to see.
The Patriots may have shut down a mediocre quarterback, but it's something they have struggled to do all year. Next we'll see how they do against those better teams like the Texans or 49ers, but for now, count me as impressed.
