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Devin McCourty made the case for calling the Patriots the best team in the NFL
"Drake Maye and those New England Patriots are here."
Devin McCourty’s take on his old team: The Patriots currently hold a share of the AFC’s best record at 9-2, and are riding an eight-game winning streak.
Still, NFL analysts and experts have been reluctant to bestow upon New England the unofficial mantle of “best team in the NFL,” citing (among other reasons) the team’s perceived lack of schedule strength.
The Patriots have so far done their best to ignore the critics, and have marched on with the win streak. Still, opinions might be starting to shift. One of those leading the charge, perhaps not surprisingly, is former Patriots safety Devin McCourty.
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Now an analyst on NBC, McCourty made his pitch to call the Patriots the league’s top team during a Sunday night segment.
“Talk about them, they’re sitting next to you,” McCourty joked to fellow panelist (and former NFL head coach) Jason Garrett.
“I got to go with Philadelphia,” Garrett joked, knowing his colleague meant it as a Patriots reference.
“I thought it was a big win the other night for the Patriots against the Jets,” Garrett acknowledged. “The Patriots are awfully good. Drake Maye is playing out of his mind. I do think teams like Philadelphia and the Rams, those guys for me are the best teams right now.”
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“Speaking it into existence,” McCourty humorously prefaced before offering his take on his former team. “Drake Maye and those New England Patriots are here. What a win Thursday night. The energy in the stadium was electric. There’s probably some teams better than them,” he admitted, “but for right now we’re going with the New England Patriots.”
Trivia: According to Pro Football Reference, Devin McCourty ranks first all-time in officially recorded pass deflections in Patriots history. Who ranks second?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls from 2003-2007 before leaving in free agency for the Eagles.
Scores and schedules:
The Celtics defeated the Clippers 121-118 on Sunday. Boston will face the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight, the Bruins face the Hurricanes at TD Garden at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, the Patriots will travel to Cincinnati to play the Bengals at 1 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics hold off James Harden, Clippers late to claim rare clutch win: 8 takeaways
- Mike Vrabel responded to Cam Newton’s ‘fool’s gold’ assessment of the Patriots
- Bruins are already reaping rewards of their trade-deadline teardown
- While Mike Vrabel’s Patriots can only consider the next opponent, we can wonder whether or not they can run the table
- AJ Dybantsa shines, but future NBA star’s Boston homecoming spoiled by UConn
- Megan Keller named captain of Boston Fleet
Celtics highlights: The Celtics survived a wild one against the Clippers on Sunday.
On this day: In 1985, the Patriots rallied from a 13-7 fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Seahawks 20-13.
Daily highlight: Irish forward Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick — including dramatic stoppage time winner against Hungary on Sunday — to send his country to the World Cup qualifying playoff.
Trivia answer: Asante Samuel
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