"We can't just jump on board right now": Rob Gronkowski dismisses talk of Patriots being championship contenders

Former New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski hit the brakes on people putting the AFC East team among candidates to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The six-time Super Bowl champions are 3-2 after five games, including an upset 23-20 win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

The victory made plenty of fans dream about their team. They waited until Week 10 to win their third game last season, half of what they needed this campaign. During Monday's edition of the "Dudes On Dudes" show, Gronkowski asked people to calm down and not go ahead of themselves when it came to his former team.

"We can't just jump on board right now and say, yes, the New England Patriots are back. This is them. That was just one game, and that was and they in. What was good is that they absolutely dominated the Carolina Panthers the previous game as well.

"And that's another thing good teams do, is they put away bad teams right away, and they run the score up on bad teams. So that's two weeks in a row, but we can't say this is their identity yet, because of the first two weeks as well. That was a very bad loss now that you're looking at it, you know, versus Las Vegas Raiders. But the Patriots didn't really know who they were. They were still learning."

New England is on a two-game winning streak after the Bills game, with Drake Maye playing at a high level in his second season in the league. They will clash against weak teams, such as the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, before they go against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a strong team, in Week 10.

Chris Simms says Patriots can beat Bills for the AFC East

NFL analyst Chris Simms shared his thoughts on the Pats' chances of winning the AFC East division after their remarkable performance against the Bills. He thinks that the Bills are still a good team, but the Pats match up well with them.

"I have more concerns about the Buffalo Bills than the rest of the public," Simms said. "I'm not sure. The way they play is still really good. Do I sit here and just go, 'Oh, yes, they're going to the Super Bowl and all that?' No. They got flaws on their football team. The New England Patriots match up really well with the Buffalo Bills. The New England Patriots are capable of winning the AFC East."

The Pats and Bills are scheduled to clash again in Week 15.