Pats Pulpit Reacts: Patriots fans feel good heading into Week 7

Heading into their Monday night matchup with the Chicago Bears there is a lot to feel good about for New England Patriots fans. Their team has won back-to-back games in blowout fashion; the offense and defense are starting to click; the rookie players have looked good; and starting quarterback Mac Jones is set to return from a three-game absence.

This general optimism surrounding the team is also reflected in the latest SB Nation Reacts fan confidence score. A total of 94 percent of fans polled last week fell good about the direction the Patriots are currently headed — the highest number of the season, and sixth highest overall in the NFL right now.

It is not hard to see why the confidence numbers have skyrocketed recently. After hitting a mere 28 percentage points after a Week 3 loss to Baltimore that saw Jones go down with a high ankle sprain, an encouraging performance in Green Bay followed by wins over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns saw the Patriots bounce back in style; they are now at .500 again and seemingly trending in the right direction.

The same is true for their rookie class. Led by first-round pick Cole Strange, the Patriots’ first-year players have generally performed at a high level this season; last week’s game in Cleveland was the group’s best collective game to date.

Accordingly, Patriots fans are pretty happy about them as well: 57 percent of participants in last week’s poll graded the group with an A. 41 percent gave them a B, with only 2 percent picking any other grade than those two.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the optimism will continue after Monday night, it is a welcome change compared to the doom and gloom from earlier this season.

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