After their shootout loss against the Bills, the Pats fell to 11-3 and the number two team in the AFC going into the last three weeks of the season. Through their first month and a half of the season, the Celtics have looked great without their best player, Jayson Tatum.

The Pats are currently in a fight for first place in the AFC with the Denver Broncos. Both teams had slow starts, starting at 1-2, but have both rallied back. The Broncos are sitting at 12-2, and the Pats are one game back.

There isn’t much else to say about how impressive the Pats have been this year and how incredible Head Coach Mike Vrabel has been as well. He has pulled the team out of last place in the AFC East with a 4-13 finish last year to 11-3 and a fight for 1st in the conference.

There aren’t many negatives to pull from this team as they have been firing on all 3 stages of the game. The main reason for this is their depth; they have great options for almost every position on the field. They have a dual running back room, several wide receivers that can get involved, and always have many ways to go with the ball.

Even with the loss to the Bills, there were many offensive positives for the Pats, especially with rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, who took off with two more 50+ yard touchdowns. This takes his season total to four of these touchdowns, which ties a rookie record.

But the few negatives fall on the defense. The Pats had a lightning-quick start against the Bills with a 21-0 lead, but choked it away by letting up 5 straight touchdowns and eventually losing 35-31.

Last season, in the playoffs, star player Jayson Tatum went down with a major Achilles tear for the Celtics and is still recovering as of right now. Head Coach Joe Mazzulla has said that there is no definitive timeline of when he will return and that it is up to Tatum and his doctors when he feels he’s ready. The hope is for him to even return at all during the 2025/26 season, but he has already gone back to doing one v one-on-ones, so things are looking up.

Celtics number two option, Jaylen Brown is playing at an MVP-type level and has been a huge help to the team’s early success. He’s averaging 29.1 Points per game(PPG), which is 6th best in the league. He is currently 5th in the MVP race after being all the way at 10. 

The Celtics have gotten a great amount of help from guards, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simmons. They are all averaging more than 13 points per game and have been taking up a good chunk of minutes for the Celtics.

As a team, they are by far one of the best shooting groups in the NBA. Over the season, they are 47% for field goals and 36.5% from three, which is amazing for a whole team.

Both teams look to continue their success for the rest of their respective seasons. They both also share the same goal, bringing a title back to Boston.