Welcome back, New England Patriots.

We should have known you’d return to Gillette Stadium with the swagger of an AFC contender.

We should have known when you blew out a bad team, the Carolina Panthers, the last time we saw you at Gillette a month ago that you’d transform yourselves quicker than expected.

But here you are, a team everyone must now take seriously because of your quarterback, Drake Maye. The atmosphere at Gillette will be different if this continues. The upper deck will no longer be a wasteland. The traffic on Route 1 today probably won’t resemble what it does for a preseason game, the way it’s been.

Tickets won’t be given away. The secondary market will show an upswing in price.

Our lives are changing.

Of course there could be bumps in the road, but nothing to derail a playoff run. Remember, this isn’t a team that’s learning how to win. They imported players like Stefon Diggs, Milton Williams and others who have won before. Williams, of course, has a ring courtesy of the Eagles in February.

Maye will be the key. His play in the last month has obviously been exceptional. The schedule, including vs. today’s opponent, the Browns, helps. Let’s see how this goes.

Meahwhile, after Indiana Jones and the Colts cosing us an unbeaten week, here’s this week’s choices, with only one all-AFC game after the Patriots because there’s a ton of inter-conference games:

PATRIOTS 27, BROWNS 3

Only the highly rated Cleveland defense keeps the Patriots from really lighting up the scoreboard. The Browns offense stinks, and of course this all goes back to the ill-suited Deshaun Watson deal. Patriots get to 6-2 and that bandwagon is running out of room.

BENGALS 24, JETS 12

The Jets are god awful, and of course the problem is they don’t have a quarterback. Joe Flacco has a field day against them. Wait, wasn’t he once …a Jet?

EAGLES 30, GIANTS 17

Philly’s revenge. The Giants are still reeling from gagging the fourth quarter at Denver – can their coaching be any worse – and the Eagles, despite the fact A.J. Brown won’t be playing, get some of their mojo back vs. a horrendous Giants secondary. Bank on it.

BUCS 33, SAINTS 13

New Orleans is finally realizing it’s a bad football team. The Baker Bucs looked bad last weekend because the Lions blized Mayfield like crazy and beat him up. The Saints are as soft as a baby’s behind.

PACKERS 27, STEELERS 19

The Pack needs this win to say they’re back, beating a decent team and their former QB on the road. Really, the Steelers are about as much of an AFC fraud as there is. Green Bay exposes them further.

FALCONS 30, DOLPHINS 23

Please Tua, play better so you don’t cry after this loss. There’s no reason at this point for Miami to make a coaching change until after the season. Come to think of, it, the Falcons, who come to Gillette next week, may do the same thing.

CHIEFS 24, COMMANDERS 13

No Daniels means no win. The Chiefs now still aren’t quite the Chiefs we remember, but Patrick Mahomes & Co. are good enough to beat Marcus Mariota.

LASTWEEK: 6-1

SEASON: 31-18

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on X (@Telegraph_TomK).