On Sept. 21, the New England Patriots were 1-2 after committing five turnovers in an ugly loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They haven't lost since.
After thrashing the Cleveland Browns 32-13 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the Patriots own the second-best record in the AFC (6-2) with the second-best point differential in the entire league (+67). The caveat, of course, is that New England has enjoyed a relatively easy schedule: Five of the team's six wins this season have come against teams with losing records, and their last three opponents (New Orleans, Tennessee and Cleveland) have a combined record of 4-20.
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So, the question is worth asking: Is this Patriots team the real deal, or are they just beating up on bad competition?
Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran made the case for the former point Sunday on Patriots Postgame Live.
"(It's) the way in which they're winning," Curran said. "(A) 31-13 (win) last week, 32-13 (this week), a 29-point win over Carolina that wasn't that close. A loss that they handed to the Steelers. They have every right in the world to think they could be 7-1. And they had that orientation game that they could have won too against the Raiders. They could be 8-0.
"We could have all kinds of caveats about the strength of schedule and the way the NFL is right now, but it isn't a team that's sniffing around the elites. It's an elite team."
There's evidence to support Curran's argument. The Patriots have proven they can beat good competition, earning a signature win over Josh Allen's Bills in Buffalo on Sunday Night Football in Week 5. And they're not just defeating the bad teams; they're destroying them, with three wins of 18-plus points already on the season.
The Patriots will face some stiffer competition going forward, including the 6-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10, the Bills again in Week 15 and Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens in Week 16. But with Drake Maye playing like a legitimate MVP candidate and head coach Mike Vrabel establishing a strong culture, there's reason to believe New England will keep winning games.
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"You do see teams start hot. But I don't think that this is built on sand," Curran added of this year's Patriots. "I think that this is a concrete foundation that's built on young players who are pretty good -- who they've either imported or developed in a way that they hadn't previously -- (and) free agent imports who have bought into the culture that the team and Mike Vrabel are espousing.
"I come back to the coordinators and the sophistication, or at least the maturity, of the coaching staff. They know what they want, whether it be (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels or (offensive line coach) Doug Marrone or (inside linebackers coach) Zak Kuhr or (defensive coordinator) Terrell Williams.
"... They know what they want from their players. The culture has been built, the team has been built and players are being developed. I think that's a big part of this not being an apparition."
Check out more reaction from Curran, Phil Perry, Ted Johnson and Michael Holley on Patriots Postgame Live: