Callahan: The Patriots aren’t Super Bowl contenders yet. Here’s what it will take

FOXBORO Feels like old times doesn t it Good football front and center No palace intrigue dominating the conversation The Patriots are good again and life is simple Thanks to Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel the Pats jumped from bad to average then skipped straight to playoff-caliber in a matter of eight weeks Now comes the hardest leap in sports good to great And while a great number of in these parts have been carried away by the sweet hysteria of a five-game win streak let s put our feet on the ground for a minute The Patriots are not Super Bowl contenders Not yet Trouncing the Browns doesn t crown you a contender Nor does smashing the Titans Saints and Panthers And while history shows crushing bad teams consistently is the strongest indicator of a good band good isn t the question anymore This is about chasing greatness and possibly a championship Greatness can only be earned by out-running opponents running the same playoff race Now it s not the Patriots fault their schedule has been packed with slow pokes But they are entirely responsible for their - record against teams right now in the playoff picture They fumbled a winnable championship to the Steelers then upset the Bills in primetime That win at Buffalo was reason alone to believe in the Patriots again And a - start is not to be dismissed nor diminished But come on How a large number of opponents did we sneer at during the Brady-Belichick era because they d won five straight and thought they suddenly belonged with the best of the best Remember the Texans outfitted in varsity jackets and tough talk How about the Chargers Or the Andrew Luck-led Colts Granted those old Patriots teams were better than majority if not all of in the current era s Super Bowl contenders But are you sincerely ready to hoist these Pats next to Kansas City Because the Chiefs are certified contenders So are the Eagles Lions Rams and Bills followed by a stable of dark horses in the Broncos Buccaneers Packers and maybe Chargers and Seahawks if you re feeling generous or squint hard enough after a couple cocktails Oh and who could forget the - Colts the best company in football by record whose advanced numbers like DVOA and EPA match the eye test The Patriots even with the league s midseason MVP don t belong up there Vegas agrees Even in a weak AFC the Pats own the league s th-best odds of hoisting the Lombardi at a minimal sportsbooks because true contention is about what you re doing and what you ve done So what will it take I ll settle for this win the next two and post a winning record once real football arrives after Thanksgiving Since we can t fast-forward to early January let s do the Pats the courtesy of assuming they check the second box and coast over their final five games around the holidays meaning they handle at least one of the Giants Ravens and Bills then sweep the Jets and Dolphins to finish the year Cool That means only the encroaching Falcons and Buccaneers are preventing them from potentially lighting a path albeit a narrow foggy rocky path to the Promised Land An - record is enough for me considering two more wins will give the Patriots a winning record versus good teams by mid-November and they will face the playoff-bound Bucs in Tampa Bay next Sunday Related Articles Patriots starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson misses practice with injury Patriots promote running back from practice squad to -man roster Patriots coaches veterans react to Kyle Dugger Keion White trades Patriots captain shares inside details of negotiating new contract extension Patriots snatch up former Browns veteran running back for added depth In the meantime Atlanta s defense should present another test for Maye this weekend The Falcons are th by defensive DVOA and rate above average by EPA and points allowed Drilling deeper they rank among the league leaders in man-to-man coverage called which is exactly how Cleveland limited Maye for two-plus quarters Sunday Tight man coverage remains the best defense in football if you have the requisite talent outside Atlanta does It s certainly tough throwing the football against them Vrabel stated Wednesday Cornerback A J Terrell s having another fantastic year Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates if you make a mistake it may be a turnover A lot of young rushers The Falcons also disguise coverage more often than Cleveland does which might yield a turnover or two The Browns understood they had to challenge Maye indirectly by beating up his receivers running backs and offensive line but too often gave themselves away pre-snap Atlanta is less likely to make that mistake They make you kind of play on your toes and I think the biggest thing about them is they move during the cadence move during the snap Maye disclosed They do a good job of mixing things up Because Maye is too talented too smart and playing too well he eventually broke Cleveland Maye we know has a chance to chase greatness down one day But the Patriots Time will tell Soon