Eight weeks are in the books for the , and they stand at an even 4-4 on the season. When it comes to a potential postseason berth, Bill Belichick's team is currently on the outside looking in of the but firmly "on the bubble," so the prospects of playing into January are technically still on the table.However, it's largely been a rocky start in Foxborough. The club began the year 1-3 and in that time saw suffer a high ankle sprain, which sent it down the rabbit hole and nearly into a full-blown QB controversy. The Patriots have been able to win three of their past four to bring them back to .500 on the year and have a couple of winnable games on the horizon, which should continue to give them a respectable record in the immediate.Before we look to the second half, however, we're going to take stock of what we've seen thus far Deion Sanders Jersey from New England and hand out our midseason grades.Maybe more important than actually winning football games in 2022 is the continued development of Mac Jones. But through eight weeks, it feels like the quarterback is heading in the wrong direction. Yes, a high ankle sprain put him on the shelf, but the quarterback's smoothne s in the pocket that we saw during his rookie season just hasn't been there. Part of it could be struggles along the offensive line or a lack of trust with what's in front of him in terms of the game plan, but there's no denying that Jones is regre sing and needs to turn the tides quickly. Of 35 qualified quarterbacks, Jones' pa ser rating (73.1) ranks 32nd in the , and his 3-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio ranks 34th. Whether it's Jones or Bailey Zappe, neither quarterback has been the reason the Patriots have won any of their games this season, putting them in the "D" grade range. NE QB #10 Babe Ruth Jersey CMP%65.9YDs993TD3INT7YD/Att7.2 The offensive line has had its moments, but the transition for going from left tackle to right tackle has been an abject failure. He leads the league in penalties and is tied for the eighth-most sacks allowed, which has since thrust into that spot. As for the wideouts, has been the bright spot and a trusted weapon on critical downs. On third and fourth down this season, he's hauled in 11 of his 17 targets for 152 yards and a touchdown while moving the chains 10 times. Neither nor has been much of a factor at the tight end spot.The backfield is really where the Patriots have made their bones on offense. They have largely leaned on , who has started to emerge as a do-it-all back both as a pure runner and a receiver. Just last week in the win against New York, he accounted for 143 of the team's 288 yards of total offense. Unlike the quarterback position, you can point to that game and say that Stevenson was a main reason for the victory. He could be in for a big second half. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre Bobby Cox Jersey sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. The defense has been what has kept New England from falling into an aby s. It is a top-10 unit overall in DVOA and has been great against the pa s. has been an anchor coming off the edge and is tied for the league lead with 8.5 sacks. That said, his impact goes beyond those sack totals. Just last week, Judon had zero sacks in the win over New York, but his pre sure forced into two interceptions. Peep Mr. Red Sleeves. Film view of Zach Wilson's 3 interceptionsThere are interceptions... and then there are *bad* interceptions.All 3 of these are the latter. Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) Judon is a 25-1 long shot to win Defensive Player of the Year, but he's certainly been New England's defensive MVP through the first half. Of course, the succe s stretches beyond just Judon, as this entire unit has shown the ability to smother opposing clubs, including a shutout win over the Atlanta Braves Jersey in Week 5 and a win over the in Week 6 where it held them to just 15 points and limited to just 56 yards on the ground.The secondary has been stout, which has been thanks to a loaded safety group headlined by , , and others. Even with Dugger injured, New England has seen the likes of and play at a high level.The biggest weakne s of the Patriots defense has been stopping mobile quarterbacks. had his way with this defense in Week 3, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 218 and four more scores. Then, did similar damage in Chicago's blowout win in Week 7 during which he ran for 82 yards and a touchdown. Facing players with the ability to make plays with their legs, New England's subpar linebacker group was exposed. With quarterbacks like and on the horizon, that is an area that needs drastic improvement. How far will New England go this season? Conference Winner Odds +5000 Probability 2% Division Winner Odds +15000 Probability 0.7% New England continues to be one of the top clubs in the NFL on special teams, ranking seventh in the league in DVOA in that area of the game. has been as reliable as you could ask for in the kicking game, netting 15 of his 17 field goals on the year and all 18 of his extra points. Belichick even recently said that Folk is "probably the smartest" kicker he's ever coached and could even one day find himself in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.While Folk has proven to be a key cog in New England's special teams unit, the punting game hasn't been as succe sful. has statistically been one of the worst punters in the NFL throughout the first half. He has seen 11 of his punts land inside the 20, however, and did have a solid performance last week against the . In that game, he had two punts land inside the 20, and New York started drives no further than its 25-yard line after his punts, so he may be turning a corner. In the punt return game, started the year in that role but struggled with ball security at times. That opened the door for rookie to take over. He has given the return game a much higher ceiling overall.The biggest thing that drags down this grade was the debacle that was the quarterback situation. Belichick seemed to straddle the fence a bit between Jones and Zappe as Jones was recovering from his high ankle sprain. He never solidified that Jones was the starter no matter what, seemingly leaving the po sibility open for Jose Ramirez Jersey Zappe to take the job.Then, in the Monday night game against Chicago, Belichick played both quarterbacks, which he claimed was by design. In reality