New England Patriots links 11/22/21 - Pats win sitting down: Top AFC East standings

TEAM TALK

• Erik Scalavino catches up with safety Adrian Phillips finding harmony in New England.
• Angelique Fiske reports Lawrence and Andrea Guy hosted a baby shower for 20 single mothers at Gillette Stadium.
• Inside the locker room following the win over the Falcons. (1.20 min. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Bill Belichick.

LOCAL LINKS

• Eric Wilbur notes how even when idle, everything this season is coming up Patriots.
• Mike Reiss shares his take on the Patriots, once 2-4, suddenly leading the AFC East after the Bills’ loss to Colts.
• Jerry Thornton writes the Patriots are back in first place, and the natural order of things has been restored.
• Matt Vautour talks about the Pats in first place in the AFC East after upsets of Bills, Titans shake up playoff picture.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriot Maven) That old feeling: Patriots once again atop AFC East. Plus, the Pats have a chance to earn the number one position in the AFC in Week 12.
• Sean T. McGuire explains how the Bears hurt the Patriots’ Week 12 chances of claiming AFC’s top spot.
• Evan Lazar finds the Patriots are who we thought they were in the passing game: They need to make up for a lack of deep passes with top-notch execution.
• Mike Reiss shares some quick-hit weekend thoughts: Matthew Slater presented ball for 200th game, adds to family collection; More.
• Ryan Hannable’s Sunday 7: It’s time to give Bill Belichick the GM credit. /Ya think?
• Mike D’Abate (Patriot Maven) Mailbag, Part I: Patriots positives, offensive and defensive strategy and More.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriot Maven) Mailbag, Part II: Jonnu’s Revenge, Mac in the cold and More.
• David Mansfield (LastWordOnSports) The New England Patriots defense is scary good.
• Ian Glendon (FullPressCoverage) Matt Judon leading Patriots defensive resurgence.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) J.C. Jackson isn’t getting enough love for his obscenely elite season.
• Conor Roche calls attention to Kyle Dugger’s strong second season.
• Chris Mason relays Bill Belichick comparing Adrian Phillips to Patrick Chung, calling him ‘one of our best players.’
• Mark Morse (PatsFans) 15 Observations from Week 11: Falcons vs Patriots. 4. Christian Barmore is leaving his mark every week.
• Isaiah Houde (PatriotsWire) This stat bodes well for Mac Jones’ run at Rookie of the Year title.
• Nick Goss points out Mac Jones became the winningest rookie quarterback in Patriots history, surpassing Jim Plunkett’s record of six wins set in 1971.
• Karen Guregian’s NFL Notes: If Josh McDaniels winds up leaving, then what for Mac Jones?
• Clare Cooper (PatsPropaganda) Sunday round-up: There may not have been a Patriots game but there was plenty of crazy yesterday.
• Sean T. Mcguire looks at how Twitter had fun with the Patriots getting plenty of help with losses from the Bills and Titans during Week 11.
• Scott McLaughlin highlights WEEI guest Boomer Esiason: Patriots can beat anyone with this defense.
• Andy Hart says ‘New England is now a team with legitimate postseason aspirations and one that can claim it is playing maybe as well as any in the NFL.’
• Adam London highlights Devin McCourty on why it’s ‘so much fun’ to play with Mac Jones.
• Andrew Callahan says the Patriots’ playoff odds nearly quadrupled over the last month.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Morning QB: How the Chiefs’ defense helped turn the season around; More from Week 11; Plus, Kliff Kingsbury’s resilient Cardinals; Ron Rivera’s homecoming; and the Colts, Eagles and 49ers are rolling.
• Peter King (ProFootballTalk) FMIA Week 11: The best RB playing in the NFL put on an old-school show; 10 things to love about wild Sunday. 2. The Patriots had a wonderful day, sitting on their couches.
• NFL Nation (ESPN) Week 11 takeaways: What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks.
• Nate Davis (USA Today) 32 things we learned from Week 11: Chaos continues as top teams tumble.
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) Week 11: What we learned from Sunday’s games.
• Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) NFL insider notes: Eagles on a run that could carry them to postseason, plus Browns and Bills have issues.
• Kevin Seifert (ESPN) NFL playoff picture: Week 11 standings, bracket, scenarios and outlook for the postseason.
• Melissa Jacobs (The Guardian) Some things never change: Bill Belichick is primed to feast on a chaotic AFC.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL Week 11 grades: Colts get an ‘A+’ for upset win over Bills, Titans get a ‘D-’ for shocking loss to Texans.
• Rodger Sherman (The Ringer) The winners and losers of NFL Week 11. Loser: Everybody else in the AFC. “But there is one AFC team that seems to be hitting its stride—and unfortunately for everybody else, it is the team that has made back-to-back Super Bowls: the Kansas City Chiefs.” /[cough] Patriots [cough].
• Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) NFL winners and losers: Week 11.
• Judy Battista (NFL.com) Colts rout Bills to extend win streak, plant themselves firmly in wild AFC playoff race.
• Sal Maiorana (Democrat and Chronicle) Bills blown out in disastrous 41-15 home loss to Colts.
• Mario Pilato (PFF) Week 11 NFL injury recap & analysis.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Daniel Wallach (Conduct Detrimental) NFL can’t transfer Gruden lawsuit to Federal Court due to corporate status.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Congressional committee contends NFL has “no valid basis” to withhold WFT documents.