The New England Patriots are back. An 8-2 record, an MVP contender at quarterback, and a top three seed in the AFC conference; you’d be hardly faulted for mistaking these statistics for one of the prime Brady-Belichick Patriots teams. However, this is in fact the 2025 version of the New England Patriots, who are off to their best start in six years. And while quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel deserve immense credit for this incredible turnaround that has seen them win as many games 10 weeks into the season as they had the previous two seasons combined, it is the gadget guys like this school’s very own Mack Hollins who have helped spearhead the rapid shift from disaster to contender.

While the popular football catchphrase is “you are what your record says you are,” NFL fans and pundits such as ESPN’s Cam Newton point to the Patriots’ weak schedule as the primary reason for their fast start. Indeed, the Patriots have benefitted from an easier schedule, as their collective opponents have maintained a winning percentage under .400 in 2025.

Additionally, their two losses have come to middle to bottom tier teams in the NFL. They lost 20-13 to open the season in Foxborough to the hapless Raiders, who are currently ranked 31 out of 32 teams by USA Today. Then, in week three, they recorded a catastrophic five turnovers in a 21-14 loss to the 17th ranked Steelers. This result dropped the Patriots to 1-2 on the season, which marked their fifth straight year starting the first three weeks with a record under .500

However, it is the last eight weeks that the Patriots have really flipped a switch. It started with a 42-13 drubbing of the 6-5 Panthers at home, and then a shocker on Sunday Night Football as they upset the Buffalo Bills 23-20 to record their first win in Highmark Stadium since 2021. From there, six more wins would follow, including most recently a 27-14 domination of the Jets on Thursday Night Football.

While it is fair to criticize the Patriots’ unexpected losses, the mistakes that other teams have made around the league should be scrutinized as well. The NFC leading Eagles lost to the 2-8 Giants in week six, the Broncos needed last minute scores to beat the Giants, Jets, and Texans, and the Buffalo Bills got blown out on the road in week 10 by the incapacitated Miami Dolphins. The theme of these games? Any given Sunday in the NFL, and the Patriots are taking care of business whereas a lot of teams are falling behind (looking at you, Kansas City).

So what has prompted this meteoric bounce back from back-to-back 4-13 seasons in 2023 and 2024 to a league best 9-2 record for the Patriot? Well, a couple of factors. First, the Patriots hired former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, a Patriots Hall of Famer himself and a three-time Super Bowl champion with the team. By bringing in someone with successful head coaching experience and someone who had been a part of the Super Bowl teams led by Brady and Belichick for eight years, the Patriots front office was able to help reinstall the winning culture of a team that had seemed directionless since Brady’s departure in 2020.

Next, the Patriots have seemed to fall upon the biggest gem of the 2024 draft class, former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. A fan favorite and subject of one of the fastest growing athlete fanpages on instagram, Drake Maye has captured the hearts of Patriots fans around the country with his superb play in only his second season, as he is currently the MVP favorite heading into Week 12.

While obtaining an outstanding head coach and an MVP-caliber quarterback are extremely beneficial in order to succeed at the highest level, you can’t complete a winning team with the guys who are willing to do the dirty work. One of the most perfect examples of this is alumni Mack Hollins.

With 30 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns, Hollins’ stats won’t immediately jump off of the page. However, he was not brought in to be the flashy go-to number one receiver like Stefon Diggs was. Instead, he was brought in for his leadership, passion, reliability, and incredible run-blocking capabilities. And he has delivered and exceeded all of these facets.

While attending this school from 2009-2013, Hollins played both varsity football and lacrosse. After graduating, he went to play at Fork Union Military Academy to obtain the academics to walk on to one of his dream schools, UNC Chapel Hill. From there, he was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and is currently in his ninth season, having played for not only the Eagles, but the Raiders, Falcons, Bills, and more so far in his career.

The biggest thing that stands out about Hollins is not his career statistics, but his reliability and his penchant for stepping up when other key players are out. During the 2024 season while playing for the Buffalo Bills, Hollins had to help fortify a wide receiver corps that lost perennial All-Pro Stefon Diggs, amid Buffalo’s playoff push with another All-Pro at quarterback, Josh Allen. All Hollins did was tie for the team lead in receiving touchdowns at five, have 25 of his 31 catches go for first downs, and help secure Josh Allen his first MVP award of his career.

Now in New England, Hollins has had to fill in as the outside receiver for several games with emerging star Kayshon Boutte out with a hamstring injury, and he has averaged 85 yards per game, which would rank fifth in the league if he had enough receptions to qualify, ahead of superstars like Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown. This includes a six catch, 106 yard performance in a win against the NFC South-leading Buccaneers, which experts largely regarded as a litmus test to prove the Patriots’ legitimacy as contenders.

But above all, his leadership and dedication to his craft and his teammates is what stands out most about Mack. From this school to a military academy to now in his ninth year in the NFL, Mack keeps rising to the opportunity when called upon because he stays true to himself, as his constant bare feet and book club will tell you. It’s this quality that embodies the 2025 Patriots perfectly and what has them firmly in contention for a Super Bowl title.