By: Michael Weil — Correspondent

The Patriots are 4-4 going into week 9. They had a commanding 54-13 victory over the Jets 2 weeks ago, and a tough 27-24 win against the Chargers last weekend.

Against the Jets, Mac Jones threw the ball 36 times for 24 completions, 307 yards, and 2 touchdowns. The running back duo of Harris and Taylor rushed for over 120 yards and 4 total touchdowns. Kendrick Bourne also threw a 25 yard touchdown.

In the matchup against the Chargers, Mac Jones had 218 yards with a completion percentage of 51. It was the Patriots defense that held strong and had two interceptions, both made by Adrian Phillips, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Going into the Chargers game, there were doubts of the team’s success moving forward. Senior Shane Sekuler says the Patriots wins have been inconsistent, but there is hope for the future. “The team looks good, just streaky. If we can string a few wins together, we will be in good shape. Mac is looking like a solid rookie starter so far, with good upside as he throws the football more.”

Senior Jacob Spodek says that it’s too early to predict how the team will perform going forward. “The team is very unknown to me right now. With 3 of their 4 wins coming against the Jets and Texans, they will need to face some better opponents to gage how good of a team they are.”

One of the strengths of the Patriots over the past few seasons has been a strong defense. This year they have both gained and lost players on this side of the ball. One of the biggest losses being Stephon Gilmore.

Senior Sharanya Dabas says that the defense is no longer up to par and we must focus on the offense to win games. “Their once proud defense has fallen, but Mac Jones has given them a new life to the offense. The potential for the future seems good.”

Sekuler says that the playoffs are not far out of reach. “ The Patriots need to acquire some new weapons and revamp parts of the defense to make a playoff run.”

The Patriots didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. Sekuler says that the Patriots needed to make some trades. “We should have traded for either another wide receiver or cornerback.”

“Jalen Mills is not the answer at cornerback, and our wide receiving core is pretty thin with Bourne and Agholor as our best options,” he added.

Spodek says the Patriots should have gone after Odell, considering the difficulties that he is having in Cleveland. “The only move the Patriots should have made is trading for Odell.”

Dabas says that the team looks okay for now. “The Patriots team as it is has a shot at making the playoffs, but a run at the Super Bowl is unlikely unless they make any acquisitions.”