With wins at Buffalo and Tampa Bay, Drake Maye’s 9-2 Patriots have made some believers on an eight-game winning streak, but Cam Newton isn’t one of them.
The former Patriots quarterback was dismissive on ESPN when asked whether the AFC would run through New England.
“It has fool’s gold written all over them, cubic zirconia middle of the mall” Newton said.
Newton then doubled down later in the week.
“I did say the Patriots are fool’s gold, and I’m gonna stand on that,” the former Patriots quarterback said on “First Take.” “I was referring to the fact that it was a question that was asked, ‘Does the AFC now go through the Patriots, or New England?’ I said, ‘fool’s gold.’ Why did I say fool’s gold? Because there’s not a soul in this beautiful gymnasium that will say they will take Drake Maye over a wild card winner in Patrick Mahomes, in Lamar Jackson.”
DeMario Douglas hadn’t heard either of Newton’s “fool’s gold” comments, but was asked about them on WEEI on Friday morning.
“They saying we fake?” Douglas replied. “Damn, that’s how you feel about us? That’s crazy.”
Though Newton’s comments have gotten national attention all week, they hadn’t popped up on Douglas’ radar.
“I don’t really look at that stuff, so that’s why all this was news to me,” Douglas said. “But I feel like we’ve just got to keep going and keep pushing. Keep working. What we do in practice is what we’re going to get out in the game, so practice hard and ignore the noise.”
Detractors — including Newton — have pointed at a soft schedule as the catalyst for New England’s 9-2 start, but Douglas doesn’t believe that’s a fair criticism.
“I don’t think it’s ever an easy game in the NFL,” Douglas said. “Honestly, a lot of games, despite the scores, (are) close games. Some of the teams that got a bad record (are) losing by one-score games or one point. It’s all about one little mistake, something like that, how people lose. I don’t think we have an easy schedule.”
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