A Sudden Change In Direction

Shank on the New England Patriots' playoff chances last week - It's dead, Jim. Shank on the New England Patriots' playoff chances last night - So you're saying there's a chance?

Midway through the third quarter, with the Patriots about to take a 23-10 lead on the Baltimore Ravens, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth assessed the Patriots' prospects in the 2020 AFC East and uttered words that will be repeated 1 million times on Boston sports talk radio this week:

"They’re right back in it.''

Seriously.

The Patriots, who were 3-5 coming into “Sunday Night Football.”

The Patriots, who struggled mightily to beat the 0-8 Jets last week.

The Patriots, who have no Tom Brady, who had eight guys opt out, and are decimated with injuries.

Right . . . back . . . in it.

I’m not so sure about this. But after three weeks of hearing about Tanking for Trevor, New England’s narrative changed when the Pats beat the Ravens, 23-17, on a dark and stormy Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

With seven games left in their season, the 4-5 Patriots trail the 7-3 Buffalo Bills by 2½ games. The Pats are two games behind the 6-3 Dolphins. But suddenly there is hope. Now we are going to hear about Tomato Can Houston (2-7) next weekend, December rematches with both Buffalo and Miami, and an expanded playoff format that rewards mediocrity.

From there we get a Rod Rust reference and a quote from Napoleon and the rest of the column is readable, devoid of the trademark snark and pessimissim.