Photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
By Chris Ryan
The New England Patriots might not be who we thought they were.
Sunday's home opener has taken on a completely different feel after the Pats 16-10 victory in Cincinnati.
There was a palpable joy and excitement in Foxboro this week from a team that executed a game plan that included handing the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson down the stretch of the 4th quarter and daring the Bengals to stop him, to no success.
Head coach Jerod Mayo signaled to this week's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, that the game plan would be the same, we're handing the ball to 'Mondre, good luck stopping him.
"I've always thought Rhamondre was one of the best backs in the league," said Mayo. "I've always thought that. A guy that can do it all."
As for the Patriots defense, we saw a brand of instinctual, fast, hard hitting football that raised expectations for this group as well. The secondary was great, and the front seven held serve with strong performances from Keion White (2.5 sacks) and Ja'Whaun Bentley (12 tackles).
Red Sox Hanging On To Playoff Hopes
Let's be honest, much like the Patriots, no one really envisioned the 2024 Boston Red Sox contending for a playoff spot, but here we are.
Are the Sox playoff hopes strong? They are not.
It's more like, we're still in this, somehow.
Boston is 4.5 games behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot with 15 games to play. Here's the rub, they have three left against the Twins, at Fenway, next weekend.
Tyler O'Neill delivered a three-run walk-off 10th inning home run on Wednesday night to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.
"We know (the Twins) are coming, they're our next games here," he said.
The Sox have three more games against the Yankees in the Bronx, before traveling to Tampa for three against the Rays.
"Obviously, we want to have a solid road trip. We've got a tough team in the Yankees, so we'll see what we can do at Yankee Stadium and hopefully take it to Tampa. We'll see where it goes," said O'Neill, who now has a team high 30 home runs.
BC Football Now Ranked #24
It's only been two games, but after a stunning 28-13 upset victory at Florida State, and a 56-0 win in their home opener against Duquesne, people are interested in Boston College Football in this region for the first time in a very long time.
This week, new head coach Bill O'Brien (yes, the Patriots offensive coordinator last year) brings his Eagles to Missouri for a battle with the sixth ranked Tigers at 12:45p tomorrow.
"This program really needs to strive for consistency in order to sustain what we've done in every area," said O'Brien.
The Press Pass column drops Fridays and the show airs on iHeart NH Saturday and Sunday at 11a. Chris also covers the Patriots for WBZ-Boston's News Radio and host's New Hampshire Today weekdays from 6-9a on iHeart NH.