2023 NFL Power Rankings: New England Patriots

Young riser: WR Demario "Pop" Douglas

The sixth-round pick out of Liberty played a season-high 37 snaps in Sunday's win over the Bills, after averaging 16.2 in the prior games in which he was healthy. His quickness and reliable hands showed up with four catches for 54 yards, one punt return for 25 yards, and one rush for 20 yards. He also drew three defensive penalties. -- Mike Reiss

This was really Mac Jones' signature NFL win. He beat the Bills as a rookie, but that was in a three-pass, wind-whipped game in Buffalo. The Bills had gotten him four straight times since then, including the playoff blowout, with Mac throwing seven combined INTs in those games. Jones last led his team back in the fourth quarter to victory in Week 5 of 2021 against a moribund Texans team. The returns of Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu helped the offensive line, and Demario Douglas and Pharaoh Brown proved they deserve bigger roles in the passing game. All that said, this rousing win came against a beat-up Bills team, and we can't exactly memory-hole the three previous games. A sign of progress or a one-game analgesic? With Miami up next, we could find out quickly.

The good news after beating the Bills was how well Mac Jones played. Could that be the game that gets him going again? They face a tough one this week at Miami against the Dolphins.

The only AFC East team to win in Week 7, New England's 29 points nearly matched its 35-point output from the previous four games combined.

One question: Will Bill Belichick catch Don Shula?

Belichick, whom NFL Network reported on Sunday signed a multiyear extension in the offseason, became the third coach in NFL history with 300 regular-season wins, joining Don Shula and George Halas. Belichick is up to 331 wins, including the playoffs, leaving him 16 short of tying Shula for the all-time record of 347. That doesn't seem like a big deficit, but at the pace the Patriots are on this season, it could take a while, and Belichick is 71 years old.

So much for the end of an era. Word leaked out Sunday morning that Bill Belichick signed a contract extension last offseason, and the Pats followed that up with a big upset of the hated Bills. This was the best Mac Jones has looked since Week 1. It makes you wonder: if he's capable of playing this well, how does it go missing for so long?

With everyone ready to bench Mac Jones, he came out and posted a line of 25-for-30, 272 yards, two touchdowns and a 126.7 passer rating in a comeback win over the Bills. Who knows if this is a sign of things to come, but it's the most positive step forward for Jones since ... his rookie season?

Was Sunday a turning point, or just a brief delay of the inevitable?

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