New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, left, hands off to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, right, in the first half of Sunday's game vs. the Colts at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

The New England Patriots are saying bye for a week, and let’s face it, things aren’t going smoothly, even after a dominant 26-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

But here’s what we know about the Patriots through nine games:

They are good enough to beat bad teams, and it’s 50-50 vs. other mediocre teams.

They are close to being awful on offense, are very good on defense as long as the quarterback can’t escape the pocket, and their issues on special teams are limited to a punter who is in a mytifying slump.

They have some young players who have been surprises: Defensive back Jack Jones, backup (for now) quarterback Bailey Zappe, and special teamer Brenden Schooler. The best player out of the free agent shopping splurge of March 2021 is sackmaster Matthew Judon (11.5 sack in nine games this year). The other really good defender is fellow linebacker Josh Uche, so you can see why the Patriots opted to let go of some of the mainstays there.

Their offensive line is not performing up to expectations, as rookie guard Cole Strange has had to be replaced by Isaiah Wynn, and we’ve found out just how critical veteran center David Andrews is.

When Jones is the QB, his favorite targets remain Jakobi Meyers and tight end Hunter Henry.For our money, if the Patriots need a key reception/conversion, etc. on offense, Meyers should be the guy.

“Well,every week it’s a little bit different because the new team that you play, the matchups and so forth,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday when asked to assess his 5-4 team at the bye week.

“But yeah, we certainly know a lot more about our team after nine regular season games than we did back in September after three preseason games.

“So this will give us a good chance here in the next few days to look a little closer and find some areas that we can improve in as we go forward.”

Belichick added “We’ve had good moments and bad moments over the course of the season. I think the big thing has been consistency. That’s shown up a little bit in all three phases of the game. So between the coaching staff and the players, jut a consistent performance, play-in and play-out, week-in and week-out. I think that’s really the biggest challenge for us moving forward.”

Oh there’s been consistency. The offense under Jones had been consistently flat. The Patriots have a lot invested in the 15th overall pick from the 2021 draft, and he showed so much promise his rookie season. But whether it’s the coordinator/scheme change and the poor coaching that goes with it, a porous offensive line, etc. that has impacted him, he’s struggled. The Patriots right now are trying to prove you can win in the NFL without touchdowns. Gulp.

Again, Belichick defers to the fact each week is its own season, in a way, for every unit.

“Every week’s its own week in terms of game planning and practicing, preparing for that team then moving on to the next week, when the next team comes,” Belichick said. “It’s the way it is on offense, defense, special teams, for everybody and for our entire team.”

Obvously, no real answers or thoughts on solutions. But Belichick can’t be happy. He knows with the second half of the season the way the schedule is, getting nine or 10 wins, which it will likely take to make the playoffs in the highly competitive AFC, won’t be easy. The Jets have their own QB issues and Zach Wilson is looking more, like Jones, like a baby-faced game manager – not what you want when you draft a QB high in the first round. We’ll see what adjustments have been made when they come to town in two weeks. Then its the Vikings, two left with the Bills, one vs. a QB, Tuo Tagliova whom you’ve never beaten, a running QB in Kyler Murray, and a Christmas Eve stocking stuffer visit from Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

They won four of five against the cupcake (Jets included), but certainly 5-0 would have been much better. The mobile (Justin Fields) QB issue prevented that. The thinking in the second half, the Patriots would have to supplant one of three teams: The Jets, Dolphins or Chargers who are in if the season were to end today. But they have competiton, becaue the defending AFC champion Bengals are alo 5-4, also on the outside looking in.

Which brings the whole thing back to Jones, and just how far the Patriots can really go with him.

“It’ not going to be a perfect picture every play,” Jones said Sunday. “But as long a I’m doing my part, the guys around me are trying to do their part, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Look on the bright side. There are worse spots. Just look at the Indianapolis Colts, who fired Frank Reich due to an anemic offense and complete botching of their own QB situation over the last five years.

See?

RANKINGS

1.Buffalo (6-2). 2. Kansas City (6-2). 3.Baltimore (6-3). 4 Tennessee (5-3). 5. Miami (6-3)

NFC

1.Philadelphia (8-0). 2. Minnesota (7-1). 3.Dallas (6-2). 4. Seattle (6-3). San Francisco (4-4).