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Cam Newton after upset win: Patriots can show they're better than 4-5

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton shared something coach Bill Belichick told the team after Sunday night's 23-17 upset victory against the Baltimore Ravens.

"Coach said it best -- we are a good enough team to be better than what our record kind of displays. We're just finding that out," Newton relayed in his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI on Monday morning.

The Patriots (4-5) haven't left themselves much margin for error, as they trail the Buffalo Bills (7-3) and Miami Dolphins (6-3) in the AFC East.

But as they turn their attention to Sunday's Week 11 road game against the Houston Texans (2-7), they do so with a mindset that everything they are shooting for is still ahead of them.

"I'm not going to sit up here and say I'm a prophet. I'm not going to sit up here and say I told you so. I'm not going to sit up here and rant and rave. But I've always believed, and still do believe, that we were close," Newton said.

"I do believe that it only takes one. This NFL season is very fickle already, in 2020, and I just know in regular NFL seasons it has always has been said, 'The league changes every two weeks.' So no matter how good you feel about your team, no matter how bad you feel about your team, it will be a different story every two weeks. For us to have gotten that win, to have had close losses -- and knowing who we are as an offense, defense and special teams, as a whole team -- it's just on us to make sure we keep that faith and not go on the assumptions of what our record is."

The Patriots were 5-5 during the 2001 season when they went on a tear to capture their first Super Bowl championship.

While the likelihood of something similar unfolding this year seems like a long shot, Sunday's developments at least keep that hope alive for them. The Bills' stunning last-second loss to the Arizona Cardinals on a Hail Mary, coupled with the Patriots' upset win against the Ravens, keeps them at least within striking distance.

After the Patriots visit the Texans on Sunday, they return home to host the Cardinals (6-3) before back-to-back road games against the Los Angeles Rams (6-3) and Los Angeles Chargers (2-7) -- in which they figure to spend six days out West because the Chargers' game is on a Thursday night.

Then they finish with a road game against the Dolphins, followed by home dates with the Bills and Jets (0-9) -- three games that could ultimately decide the division title.

Part of what helped the Patriots pull off the upset Sunday night was the return of some injured players and development of others. Newton is hopeful that veteran receiver Julian Edelman will join that group in the coming weeks, as he is eligible to come off the injured reserve list this week.

"I can confirm he's getting better, he's getting well ... Just to see him in good spirits and knowing that we're doing our job as a team so when he comes back, it's evident he'll have help at that position," Newton said. "We just need him to be healthy, we need him to have that same speed he's always had, but now being a little bit more healthy he's able to cut it loose without necessarily thinking. I think that's all he wanted, and that's all we wanted as a team.

"Julian Edelman is a person that is on the Mount Rushmore of Patriot history over the years for everything he has done and what he represents as a player. I'm just anticipating the day that he comes back."