In a development very few—if any—football experts saw coming, the Patriots have the best record in the NFL as we creep toward the midway point of November.
There was nothing particularly surpising about New England's dominance against the Jets on Thursday night because Drake Maye has turned himself into a household name and Justin Fields is apparently not an NFL quarterback. But with each win, the notion that the Pats are legit and poised to sail to unexpected heights gets more and more reasonable.
So it was only a matter of time until someone took the jump from “Patriots are going to win the AFC East” to "Patriots are going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.” And Ryan Clark took the opportunity to claim this uncharted land on Friday’s First Take.
Asked if he was convinced that the AFC will go through Foxborough, Clark offered a confident “absolutely.”
.@Realrclark25 is convinced the Patriots WILL win the AFC 👀 pic.twitter.com/BzqvKwRdtZ
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 14, 2025
Clark points out that the Patriots have an easy schedule from here on out and their two must-wins (against Buffalo and Baltimore) can be negotiated with Maye playing at level, as well as the diverse nature in which New England has won en route to the esteemed 9–2 mark.
All of this adds up to the Patriots capturing homefield advantage through the AFC bracket, and potentially hosting two more vaunted teams come January. This is just like old times when Tom Brady & Co. used to establish a winter residence there but it's also a totally new lease on life for the franchise.
Now, the emoji First Take used here is buldging eyeballs about Clark being convinced the Pats will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. In reality there's only a few more weeks where those eyballs will be necessary. New England is capturing believer by believer and erasing doubt with regularity.
We're hearing things we couldn't believe just a few months ago and they don't sound ridiculous. The next step, of course, is Patriots and “Super Bowl champs” entering the same sentence. The race to be first on that one might really take off.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots Hype Reaches New High As Analyst Says AFC Runs Through New England.
