The New England Patriots earned their fourth straight victory in Week 7 with a 31-13 win over the Tennessee Titans. With this result, the Pats pushed their record on the season to 5-2, which is good for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture currently. There’s obviously a lot of football left to be played this season, but the Patriots’ ability to continually win games is becoming tough to ignore. Yes, they are taking down some less-than-inspiring teams, but the way they are doing so is confirming that they are a legit playoff-contending squad. As a result of their recent string of success, New England has been rising up various NFL power rankings over the past couple of weeks. After taking down the Titans, though, the Patriots leapt all the way to the No. 5 spot in Bucky Brooks’ weekly power rankings for Fox Sports. “It has not taken Mike Vrabel long to put his stamp on the Patriots as an emerging powerhouse in the AFC,” Brooks wrote. “With Drake Maye playing with surgical precision from the pocket, New England possesses the offensive sizzle needed to hang with the juggernauts in the postseason tournament.” “As the defense continues to forge its identity as a throwback outfit built on physicality, toughness and grit, Vrabel is building the Patriots in the image of New England’s championship squads of the 2000s.” Story continues below advertisement After initially being skeptical about New England’s performance, more and more folks are beginning to buy into their winning ways. The No. 5 spot may admittedly be a bit too high for them, but either way, you cannot ignore their standing as one of the top teams in the league. Making the situation even rosier for the Patriots is that they are in a great position to continue winning, as they have a matchup with the two-win Cleveland Browns on their schedule in Week 8. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, as New England will be looking to earn its sixth win of the season.