Though the New England Patriots came out with a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals this past Sunday during opening week, it’s still too early to declare the Patriots a ‘good’ team.

With that being said, the defense of the Patriots is still among the best in the NFL. Despite the departure of Matthew Judon before the regular season began, the Pats still have a way-above-average secondary with Marcus Jones, Alex Austin and so forth. The Patriots still can apply pressure to the pocket, but there were times when they were unable to. Nonetheless, I expected Jerod Mayo to have his defense prepared well against the Bengals. But the defense isn’t necessarily the concern.

It’s the lack of top talent on offense that concerns me. I see Rhamondre Stevenson being the leading scorer on offense, and though that’s not a rarity to see a running back do, I only see a couple touchdowns from him this season. Wide receivers such as Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and tight end Hunter Henry certainly have talent, but we won’t be able to see what they can really do this season due to the lack of quarterback talent. Jacoby Brissett is no scrub, but the nine-year veteran also isn’t above average. This past week, I didn’t see any accurate throws or improvised plays that gave me hope that the Pats will do well offensively against better teams. The offense line was decent, but against better defensive lineman, I can see some rough weeks for the Patriots.

Having said all that, we can’t forget the fact that the Patriots almost defeated the Philadelphia Eagles early last season, and defeated the Buffalo Bills last October. Neither performances gave hope to fans that the Patriots were going to be a top team or even make the playoffs. I don’t completely want to step on the win Week 1, because there were certainly some upsides to look at, and the Seahawks this weekend are a team they can also beat, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

If the Patriots find themselves 2-0 to begin the season, more murmurs will begin whether this club is playoff caliber. Don’t forget about the other AFC East teams that also are potential playoff teams that the Pats have to get through. Aaron Rodgers returning with the Jets, Josh Allen and the Bills, and Tyreek Hill still carving up defenses in Miami. All I’m saying is don’t begin the hype train just yet.